Department for Transport

Railways: North of England

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 21015 to Question 7026, what the cost-benefit ratio was for North TransPennine electrification programme on the most recent date for which figures are available; and what the cost-benefit ratio was for North TransPennine electrification programme when combined with track improvements on that date.

Andrew Jones: As reported previously in the Answer of 13 July 2015 to Question 5807 and the Answer of 14 July 2015 to Question 7026 by my Hon Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, the Hon Member for Devizes (Claire Perry), the initial work on the North Transpennine electrification business case comprises a range of scenarios. The latest assessment of the benefit cost ratio for electrification alone showed it was poor value for money but when it is combined with track improvements to provide faster journeys and more frequent services, it has the potential to be high value for money. There are no further updates to that answer at this time.

Railway Stations: Capital Investment

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 21015 to Question 6468, when the new round of bidding to the New Station Fund will (a) begin and (b) conclude.

Claire Perry: We are working hard to design the bidding process for the New Stations Fund and will announce the deadlines for the fund shortly.

Freight: Finance

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much and what proportion of its expenditure the Mode Shift Revenue Support scheme granted to (a) rail and (b) maritime freight operators in each year since 2009-10.

Andrew Jones: Mode Shift Revenue Support (MSRS) expenditure for rail freight moved in each year since the scheme started in April 2010, is shown in the table below.  2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15Total MSRS expenditure (including inland waterway)£19,373,617£16,489,457£16,869,638£16,752,301£17,792,310MSRS rail expenditure£19,373,617£16,439,868£16,752,664£16,622,583£17,691,643Rail as proportion of MSRS expenditure100%99.70%99.30%99.23%99.43%The MSRS scheme also covers inland waterways but not maritime freight. Mode shift support for coastal and short sea shipping is provided though a separate scheme, Waterborne Freight Grant, for which expenditure is shown in the table below.  2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15Waterborne Freight Grant£240,594£81,770£416,349£557,878£283,741

Gospel Oak-Barking Railway Line: Electrification

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what timetable is planned for the electrification of the Barking to Gospel Oak line; what forecast he has made of the cost of that electrification; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: Network Rail proposes to deliver electrification of the Barking to Gospel Oak line by summer 2017, in time for the new four-car electric trains ordered by TfL to be introduced in 2018. Network Rail is still assessing the detailed cost of the electrification and gauge enhancement scheme between Thameshaven/Tilbury Docks and the Midland Main Line via Barking and Gospel Oak and the forecast cost will be provided to DfT in due course.

Network Rail

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2015 to Question 6967, what funding has been allocated to each project for each year under the heading, Funding for projects in addition to the agreed Rail Investment Strategy, given in the Answer of 9 July 2015 to Question 5694.

Claire Perry: The projects in addition to the agreed Rail Investment Strategy are:   ProjectFunding (m)Ely-Soham double tracking35.0Syston – Stoke gauge enhancement20.0Sheffield Tram Train48.0New Stations Fund (5 stations)19.7Windermere electrification16.0Western flood resistance26.0Hull electrification study2.5Coventry – Nuneaton Phase 25.0Wigan – Bolton electrification37.0Gospel Oak – Barking and London freight electrification90.0Gatwick station (second phase)20.0Chesterton Station44.0Access for All ‘top-up’60.0   The project funding is not broken down by year as Network Rail was reclassified to the public sector, which means that project funding spend is triggered by the projects’ actual expenditure in each year.   There is a small variation between the total funding amounts in this table and the one sent earlier under the heading “Funding for projects in addition to the agreed Rail Investment Strategy”. This is because the table in question 5694 is a cash forecast year by year, whereas this table is the price set at the projects’ earlier approval dates.

Walsall-Rugeley Railway Line

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) work has been carried out and (b) expenditure has been made on work to electrify and upgrade the Chase Line from Walsall to Rugeley Trent Valley to date.

Claire Perry: Network Rail is carrying out the work to improve the Walsall to Rugeley Trent Valley Line. They have advised that £27.3m has been incurred so far on the project to electrify the line. Work carried out to date has included the structures clearance work, detailed design of the electrification system, and the contract award to ABC Electrification, the main contractor.   The route clearance work is substantially complete and has gone well. This has involved 5 bridges being reconstructed, and 11 track lowerings being undertaken. The remaining significant civil engineering work is to lift the headroom in Park St Tunnel, Walsall, which is scheduled to be carried out from October 2015 to May 2016.   An interfacing scheme (journey time improvement between Ryecroft and Rugeley) is currently in the detailed design phase.

Walsall-Rugeley Railway Line

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether electrification of the Chase Line from Walsall to Rugeley Trent Valley is included in the projects paused as part of the assessment of the High Level Output Specification.

Claire Perry: The electrification of the Chase Line from Walsall to Rugeley Trent Valley is continuing and is scheduled to be completed by December 2017.

Railways

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2015 to Question 6793, whether he has seen or requested a copy of the list of projects that would be stopped or refused which was referred to on page 3 of Network Rail's Board minutes of 25 November 2014.

Claire Perry: No projects are being cancelled. The Secretary of State has asked Sir Peter Hendy to put forward proposals for re-planning the CP5 investment programme to ensure it can be delivered effectively and efficiently.

HM Coastguard: Staff

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what metric his Department uses to assess the risk-assessed level of staffing at coastguard operations centres; and what assessment he has made of those risk-assessed staffing levels using this metric at each of the coastguard operations centres in the period from January 2015 to July 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Her Majesty’s Coastguard has undertaken an in depth analysis of its historical incident data to develop suggested staffing levels for the National Network by time of day (day or night) and season (low, medium, high and peak). During the current transition period this level has also depended on the geographical scope of the National Network as areas previously managed by Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres migrate into it.   Between January and July 2015 the National Network was staffed at the suggested levels on 93% of occasions.   On occasions where staffing is below these levels the flexibility of the National Network allows for support to be made available to teams experiencing very high workloads from teams elsewhere in the network with spare capacity.

HM Coastguard: Fareham

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of staff at the National Maritime Operation Centre at Fareham had attained the qualification level required for the Centre to reach full operational capacity by December 2015 by 21 July 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill: As at 21 July 2015 61 out of the 75 Coastguards (81%) appointed to roles at the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) in Fareham had attained the qualification level required for the Centre to reach full operational capacity by December 2015.   Recruitment and training for the NMOC and wider National Network is phased incrementally to deliver the right number of Coastguards at the right point in the transition timetable. The new National Network progressively became operational from September 2014; transition will complete by the end of December 2015.

HM Coastguard: Fareham

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the staff required for the National Maritime Operation Centre in Fareham to reach full operational capacity by December 2015 had been appointed by 2 July 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill: As at 2 July 2015, 75 out of the full complement of 96 Coastguards (78%) had been appointed to roles at the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) in Fareham.   Recruitment for the NMOC and the wider National Network is phased incrementally to deliver the right number of Coastguards at the right point in the transition timetable. The new National Network progressively became operational from September 2014; transition will complete by the end of December 2015.

Network Rail

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2015 to Question 7273, when he was first advised that a decision on whether to pause major projects may have to be taken.

Claire Perry: The Secretary of State was first advised to pause major projects in June 2015, to allow the programme to be reset pending the outcome of Sir Peter Hendy’s review.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Infrastructure: Cumbria

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what investment in infrastructure the Government plans to make in (a) Copeland constituency and (b) Cumbria as part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative.

James Wharton: The Government has provided several economic tools to help drive forward economic growth in Copeland and the wider Cumbria local enterprise partnership including: Growth Deal - £47.7 millionRegional Growth Fund - £23.7 millionGrowing Places Fund – £6.7 millionBroadband Delivery UK - £22.1 millionCoastal Communities Fund - £3.8 million The Department for Transport have also allocated £83.6 million to Cumbria County Council as the highway authority for infrastructure investment across the whole of Cumbria. The strategy for transport infrastructure investment in the North, including Cumbria, as part of the Northern Powerhouse, is still being developed by Transport for the North – and Government has committed £30 million over three years towards the running costs of Transport for the North, which will be set up as a statutory body.

Fire Services

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) whole time, (b) retained and (c) control firefighters were employed by each UK fire and rescue service in each of the last five years.

Mr Mark Francois: The numbers of firefighters employed in England, for each of the past five years for which data are available, and in terms of total headcount, are provided in the attached summary table. Data are as reported by fire and rescue services, and are broken down by whole time, retained duty system and fire control staff. The numbers of non-uniformed support staff are also shown, along with the total number of incidents attended by fire and rescue services over the period.  The breakdown of annual headcount figures for each fire and rescue service is provided in attached tables. The Department holds data for England only, other parts of the UK are dealt with by devolved administrations.



Fire and Rescue Service Headcount
(Excel SpreadSheet, 26.51 KB)




Fire and Rescue Service Headcount Summary
(Excel SpreadSheet, 13.19 KB)

Fire Services: South West

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what risk assessment he has made of the proposed merger of the Dorset and Wiltshire fire services.

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on front-line services of the merger of the Dorset and Wiltshire fire services.

Mr Mark Francois: None. The Government supports voluntary mergers between fire and rescue authorities where proposals have been consulted on and have local support. In the case of Dorset and Wiltshire, the Secretary of State was satisfied that the merger proposal put forward by the elected members of both authorities was in the interests of economy, efficiency and effectiveness and public safety. It is a matter for elected members of the new Dorset and Wiltshire fire and rescue authority to consider the effect on services. The business case for the Dorset and Wiltshire merger was subject to local consultation and, in due course, the approach to service delivery will be set out in a new Integrated Risk Management Plan. The authority will prepare this Plan taking account of advice from senior fire service professionals, and the views of the local community who must be consulted.

Trees: Urban Areas

Mr Nick Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to protect mature trees in urban areas; and what support his Department provides to local authorities for such protection.

James Wharton: Local planning authorities have the power to make a Tree Preservation Order to protect trees of amenity value in urban areas. With limited exceptions, it is an offence to cut down, top, lop, uproot, or wilfully damage or destroy a tree protected by an Order, without the authority’s permission. Our web-based planning guidance, Tree Preservation Orders and trees in conservation areas, supports authorities in the exercise of these powers.

Derelict Land

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 9.15 of HM Treasury's policy paper, Fixing the foundations: creating a more prosperous nation, published on 10 July 2015, Cm 9098, what steps he is taking to ensure proposals for automatic planning permission for brownfield sites include adequate provisions to enable local authorities to ensure new houses meet quality and space standards.

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 9.15 of HM Treasury's policy paper, Fixing the foundations: creating a more prosperous nation, published on 10 July 2015, Cm 9098, what steps he is taking to ensure proposals for automatic planning permission for brownfield sites include adequate provisions to enable local authorities to ensure new homes meet affordable housing standards under section 106 of the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013.

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 9.15 of HM Treasury's policy paper, Fixing the foundations: creating a more prosperous nation, published on 10 July 2015, Cm 9098, what steps he is taking to ensure proposals for automatic planning permission for brownfield sites ensure that local communities are consulted on such developments; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 9.15 of HM Treasury's policy paper, Fixing the foundations: creating a more prosperous nation, published on 10 July 2015, Cm 9098, what steps he is taking to ensure proposals for automatic planning permission on brownfield sites enable local authorities to provide for adequate infrastructure in such applications.

Brandon Lewis: We will publish details about how the policy will operate when the Housing Bill is introduced. This will include how further technical details will be agreed, and arrangements for securing essential infrastructure and design quality.

Derelict Land

Mr Nick Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to encourage building on brownfield sites.

Brandon Lewis: The Government will require local authorities to have a register of available brownfield land that is suitable for new homes. We also intend to create a Fund to unlock homes on brownfield land for additional housing. We will continue to support the regeneration of brownfield land through a range of measures, including £200 million to help create Housing Zones outside London and releasing enough public sector land for over 150,000 homes by 2020.

Social Rented Housing

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the proportion of social housing in England which is affected by Stachybotrys chartarum and Aspergillus niger; and what steps his Department is taking to tackle incidence of such molds.

Brandon Lewis: The Housing Health & Safety Rating System allows local authorities to assess properties against 29 different hazards, including damp and mould growth. If following an inspection a property is found to contain a serious, “category 1”, hazard, we would expect the local authority to take action in relation to the hazard. The assessment for whether damp is a hazard takes into account factors such as the state of repair of the dwelling, the extent of existing dampness and the effect it could have on mould growth, and the consequent potential for harm. Since April 2010 the Decent Homes standard has been a regulatory requirement for social landlords. The Decent Homes standard was set as a threshold and the landlord must not allow a home to be below the standard. Most landlords are delivering works that exceed the minimum standard.

Families: Disadvantaged

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many families are in the Troubled Families programme; and what estimate he has made of the average cost to the public purse for each family which has participated in that programme to date.

Greg Clark: As was announced on the 22 June 2015, the original Troubled Families Programme (2012-2015) worked with and turned around the lives of 116,654 families. The new and expanded Troubled Families Programme was rolled out nationally in April 2015 and will reach up to a further 400,000 families with multiple problems. Details of how many troubled families are engaged in the new programme, in its first year of implementation, will be published in due course. Research estimates that the cost to the public purse of the most troubled 120,000 families before engagement with the Troubled Families Programme was £9 billion in total; an average of £75,000 per family (DCLG: ‘The Fiscal Case for Working with Troubled Families’ (2013)). £8 billion of this spend was purely reacting to their problems. Information about the fiscal benefits resulting from that programme will be published in due course.

Funerals: Cumbria

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many Public Health Funerals have been conducted in (a) Copeland constituency and (b) Cumbria in each of the last 20 years.

Mr Marcus Jones: This information is not held by my Department or the Department of Health which leads on public health issues.

Local Government Finance

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much unspent section 106 money each district and unitary council had as of 21 July 2015.

Brandon Lewis: This information is not held centrally.

Leasehold

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2015 to Question 222794, what progress his Department has made on exploring what further support can be offered to leaseholders.

Brandon Lewis: As stated in answer to Question 222794, this Government is always looking at what support can be offered to leaseholders. Residential leasehold is a complex subject and it is important that any initiatives taken forward work as intended and without creating unnecessary costs and burdens.We continue to work with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Association of Retirement Housing Managers on the detailed work required to update the Codes of Practice that apply to the private residential leasehold sector, before being approved by the Secretary of State. We are considering the responses received to the discussion paper published in March 2015 on how to make it easier to gain statutory recognition of a tenants' association to determine the way forward. At the Government's request and in collaboration with a range of interested parties, the Leasehold Advisory Service has led the development of an information sheet for prospective purchasers of leasehold flats. We hope to see the final version agreed and made available later this year.

Renewable Energy

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what changes the Government has made to building regulations relating to renewable energy in the last five years.

James Wharton: The Building Regulations have been changed twice in the last five years to strengthen energy requirements by over thirty percent. To meet these demanding performance-based standards, new buildings need more insulation, better windows, efficient heating or renewable systems.Also, the Building Regulations were amended in 2012 to require notification that an analysis of the feasibility of using high efficiency alternative systems, including renewable energy, has been carried out before new construction commences.

Travellers: Discrimination

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what work the Government is doing to tackle discrimination against the Gypsy and Traveller communities.

Brandon Lewis: The Equality Act 2010 protects all individuals, including Gypsies and Travellers, against racial and other forms of discrimination. The Department will continue to work with colleagues across government to deliver the conditions for everyone to live and work successfully alongside each other, creating a more integrated community.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

British Nationals Abroad: Crime

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that crimes committed against British nationals by family members overseas are investigated and prosecuted.

Grant Shapps: Whilst we cannot interfere in the investigation or judicial processes in that country, we will also consider making appropriate representations to the local authorities if there are concerns that the investigation is not carried out in line with local procedures; if there are justified complaints about discrimination against the person who has died or their family; or where we judge that a local delay or decisions creates significant distress for the bereaved. Details of the support we offer to all British victims of crimes overseas are set out in our public statement: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/317474/FCO_Brits_Abroad_2014.pdf The investigation of crimes overseas are the responsibility of the country in which they occurred. We cannot interfere in investigations overseas and may be considered a third party by some countries and therefore not entitled to updates on the investigation or court process. We recommend that families engage a local lawyer who can make efforts to ensure that local standards are met and can seek updates from the local authorities and courts. We do though retain close interest in cases, and seek updates where we are able to. We can also formally note our interest in an investigation, in particular if a British National is murdered or dies in suspicious circumstances.

Islamic State

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of the provision of financial assistance from Saudi Arabian citizens to support ISIS activities in Syria and Iraq; and what discussions he has held with foreign counterparts on tackling such assistance.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We work closely with countries in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, to counter the threat from terrorists and extremists across the region. Saudi Arabia is a key partner on a broad range of counter terrorism questions. The Saudi government is acutely aware of the threat from terrorist groups such as Al Qaida and ISIL to their own and global security, and have been at the forefront of efforts to combat them. Saudi Arabia has a comprehensive set of laws in place to prevent terrorist financing, which we assess that it vigorously enforces.

Andargachew Tsege

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise the case of Mr Tsege with the US administration before President Obama's visit to Ethiopia.

Grant Shapps: President Obama was not asked to raise the case of Andargachew Tsege with the Government of Ethiopia during his visit. The Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond MP) and the Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service, my Rt Hon friend, the Member for Witney (David Cameron MP) have frequently raised the case directly and at the highest levels of the Ethiopian government, most recently on 8th and 17th August, and will continue to do so. Following an HMG request Mr Tsege has been transferred to a federal prison, and HMA Addis visited him there on 13 August.

West Bank: Demolition

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the demolition of the village of Susiya in the West Bank.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Government is a strong supporter of the community in Susiya and officials have visited regularly to see the situation on the ground. Our Consul-General in Jerusalem visited Susiya, alongside the other EU Heads of Missions, most recently on 22 July, to make clear our serious concerns about the proposed demolition.The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), urged Israel to refrain from taking steps which worsened prospects for a two state solution during his visit on 16 July. On 21 June, our Ambassador in Tel Aviv raised planning issues in Area C and the Bedouin community in E1 with the Israeli National Security Advisor. The Ambassador also raised the issue with the Head of the Israeli Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, Gen. Mordechai; Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director, Ushpiz; Deputy Foreign Minister, Hotovely; Cabinet Secretary, Mandelblit; and Zionist Union leaders, Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni, stressing that there would be very sharp international reactions against a demolition.

West Bank: Demolition

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received from (a) the Israeli government, (b) the Palestinian government and (c) non-governmental bodies on the demolition of Susiya.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office receives reports from our posts in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem following meetings that have been held with Israeli and Palestinian officials, respectively, where issues concerning the village of Susiya have been discussed. Our posts also receive updates from Non-Governmental Organisations on this issue.

Immunity from Prosecution

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Special Mission Immunity status pilot, whether any new policies or procedures have been introduced in response to the outcome of that pilot.

Grant Shapps: The pilot is still in operation. I shall inform the House of any changes to special mission policies or the procedures by which the Government will be informed of inward visits which may qualify for special mission immunity status.

West Bank: Demolition

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the prospects of implementing a two state solution in Israel and Palestine arising from the demolition of the Palestinian village of Susiya.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK's priority remains the achievement of a two-state solution. We continue to believe that the best way to achieve this is through negotiations. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised our concerns over steps that take us away from a two state solution with the Israeli government on 16 July, during his visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

West Bank: Demolition

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for (a) his policies and (b) Israel's compliance with the Fourth Geneva Convention of the demolition of the Palestinian village of Susiya.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Demolitions cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; are harmful to the peace process; and are, in all but the most exceptional of cases, contrary to international humanitarian law. The Fourth Geneva Convention is clear that the destruction of any real or personal property in Occupied Territory is not justified unless it is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.

Iran: Arms Trade

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of lifting the UN arms embargo on Iranian access to conventional arms and how it will impact the security of that region.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Under United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution 2231, a UN arms embargo on Iran will remain in force for five years after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Adoption Day, or until the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Broader Conclusion. Arms transfers will be permitted only if explicitly approved by the Security Council. Other UN measures will continue to restrict arms transfers from Iran to specific parts of the region, including UNSC resolution 1701, which prevents the supply of weapons to non-governmental forces in Lebanon, including Hezbollah. Under the nuclear deal, the EU arms embargo on Iran will continue after the UN arms embargo is lifted. Iran's role in fostering instability in the Middle East, including its ongoing support for the Assad regime, continues to be a source of serious concern. The nuclear deal has not changed our view on this. But we believe there is a possibility that if Iran takes the right paths, the deal could bring about a step-change in Iran's relations with its neighbours, and with the international community.

Kurds

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has recently received requests from officials in the Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq to discuss with them the establishment of an independent Kurdish state; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We have not recently received any requests from officials in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for discussions on the establishment of an independent Kurdish state. The UK is committed to a stable, secure, prosperous and unified Iraq. We believe that the Kurds have an important role to play in building that future and confronting the threat ISIL poses to all of Iraq’s communities.

Syria: Chemical Weapons

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of Syria's compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 2118 on ending its chemical weapons programme.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Following the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 2118, and on becoming a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, Syria produced a declaration of its chemical weapons programme. Those chemical weapons declared by Syria have been removed from Syria for secure destruction. As part of this international effort, in May 2015 the UK completed the destruction of 200 tonnes of precursor chemicals from Syria. However, industrial chemicals such as chlorine are still being used as weapons in Syria, in breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention and UN Security Council resolutions, including resolution 2118. We strongly condemn such breaches. The UK, along with international partners, remains committed to ensuring that those responsible are held to account. UN Security Council Resolution 2235, adopted in August 2015, creates an international mechanism tasked with identifying the people responsible for these appalling acts. The Syrian regime also has serious questions to answer in respect of its weapon programmes declaration, and cannot be considered to be in full compliance with its Chemical Weapons Convention and UN Security Council obligations before it has done so satisfactorily. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is urgently seeking answers from the Syrian regime.

Egypt: Civil Liberties

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2015 to Question 6693, what recent discussions he has had with the Egyptian government on (a) freedom of opinion and expression, (b) freedom of peaceful assembly and association and (c) the position of civil society in that country.

Mr Philip Hammond: We regularly discuss these issues with the Egyptian government. We remain concerned about any steps taken by the authorities that constrain public freedoms enshrined in the constitution, including the passing of a protest law in November 2013, and decreasing space for civil society. The UK believes that freedom of expression, the right to peaceful assembly, and civil society are vital in any democracy. We urge the Egyptian government to ensure full implementation of the constitutional provisions for the free operation of civil society, including through a revised non-government organisation law that conforms to international standards and protects freedom of expression.I raised all of these issues during my last meeting with President el-Sisi in Egypt in March 2015. I expect to meet my Egyptian counterpart during September and will discuss progress on our concerns with him then.

Colombia: Human Rights

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Colombian government to request that due process is observed in proceedings following the arrests of social activists (a) Esmer Montilla, (b) Samuel Rojas, (c) Ramiro Ateortua and (d) Ingrid Pinilla on 15 and 16 July 2015.

Mr Hugo Swire: On 29 July, our officials from our Embassy in Bogotá met the Colombian non-governmental organisation DHOC (la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos y el Derecho Internacional Humanitario del Oriente y Centro de Colombia), to which Esmer Montilla, Samuel Rojas, Ramiro Ateortua and Ingrid Pinilla all belong. Our officials agreed to monitor the case, to meet periodically with DHOC and to send a letter to the National Ombudsman to ask them to meet DHOC about the case and to ensure that due process is followed. Subsequently, our Ambassador in Bogotá met the Minister of the Interior on 5 August and raised this case and protection for human rights activists. He urged the government to ensure due process is observed. We cannot interfere in the judicial process of another country but we will continue to monitor proceedings.

Colombia: Human Rights

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on whether the Colombian government has recently taken steps to ensure that human rights activists in that country are given full legal protection and are not arrested as a result of their work.

Mr Hugo Swire: I regularly receive reports on the human rights situation in Colombia, most recently the update from the Colombian non-governmental organisation, Somos Defensores (“We are defenders”) on 18 August. This gives figures on the situation for human rights defenders in the first half of 2015 and raises concerns regarding the protection of human rights activists. The Colombian government continues to take steps to address human rights issues, most recently reactivating its “Table of Guarantees”, an initiative led by the Ministry of Interior to provide a high level dialogue with civil society and human rights organisations. Given our commitment to human rights in the country, our Embassy in Bogotá was recently invited to join as an observer. We will continue to raise issues such as the legal treatment of human rights activists in this, and other, fora.

Colombia: Law and Order

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on (a) the shooting dead in Buenaventura, Colombia, on 20 July 2015, of two boys by paramilitary gangs and (b) how it was possible for those shootings to take place in a street heavily supervised by the Colombian armed forces; and if he will make representations to the Colombian authorities on that matter.

Mr Hugo Swire: Our Embassy in Bogotá has received reports on this tragic incident in Buenaventura from seven UK and international civil society organisations. On 3 August, the UK and other Member States represented in Colombia wrote collectively to the Presidential Adviser on Human Rights, Guillermo Rivera, urging the government to investigate the events thoroughly, uphold their duty to protect the humanitarian zone and ensure that victims are adequately protected.

Attorney General

Contempt of Court

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Attorney General, what his policy is on the circumstances in which his Department should pursue a case of contempt of court, and when such action should be pursued by a private individual.

Robert Buckland: When the Attorney General or Solicitor General is asked to consider bringing contempt proceedings each case is reviewed on its own merits. The Law Officer considering the case has to be satisfied that there is a realistic prospect of proving in the High Court that a contempt has been committed and, if so, that it is in the public interest to institute proceedings. It is important that the Law Officer exercises discretion in this area to ensure that he only brings proceedings where he is satisfied that both the evidential and public interest considerations are met.

Employment Tribunals Service

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Attorney General, with reference to recent representations from the hon. Member for Nottingham South on the case of Heather Peto, if he will undertake an investigation of whether his Department followed its processes fully in that case.

Robert Buckland: The Attorney General personally considered the representations received from the Honourable Member for Nottingham South in this case and responded at some length in writing to her in March. It is not proposed therefore to undertake any investigation along the lines the Honourable Member suggests.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Students: Loans

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what advice he has received from Islamic scholars on the writing off of sharia compliant student loans.

Joseph Johnson: Following a consultation in 2014 on a Sharia-compliant alternative finance product which sought to obtain views on the acceptability of an alternative finance product based upon the Takaful Model, officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills are working with Islamic finance experts to consider the introduction of a possible alternative finance product, including terms and conditions that would be Sharia-compliant and equivalent to other student loans. Advice has been received from Al Rayan Bank (formally Islamic Bank of Britain).

Export Credit Guarantees

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what value of export credit guarantees has supported (a) ship manufacturing and (b) marine engineering in each of the last 10 years.

Anna Soubry: Between financial years 2005/6 to 2014/15 inclusive, UK Export Finance has provided support with a value of £501.7m for export contracts related to the shipbuilding and marine engineering sectors. These figures are broken down by category and year in the table below.   Financial YearShipbuildingMarine EngineeringTotal2005/6---2006/7---2007/8£276.3m-£276.3m2008/9-£12.1m£12.1m2009/10---2010/11-£22.6m£22.6m2011/12---2012/13£6.9m£24.1m£31m2013/14£6.4m£1.2m£7.6m2014/15£8m£143.9m£151.9mTOTAL£297.7m£204m£501.7m   Source: UKEF Annual Accounts.

Iron and Steel

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what forecasts the Government has made of steel (a) production and (b) demand in the next 20 years; and from which countries he expects the UK will import steel to meet that demand.

Anna Soubry: Neither the Office for National Statistics nor other governmental statistical sources make such forecasts for steel. The Government forecasts can influence markets and therefore must be able to be robust.

Electronic Commerce

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring forward regulations to clarify the legal protections that third party companies receive with regard to stock and stock lists which are held by online retailers; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: No, given the rights and obligations of businesses holding stock on behalf of third parties are well-established and in the event of a dispute it is for the courts to determine the outcome, based on the facts of the case.

Companies House

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his policy is on the future of Companies House; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Companies House’s principal roles are to incorporate and dissolve limited companies, register the information companies are legally required to supply, and make that information available to the public. There are no plans to change these functions.

Care Homes: Living Wage

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the National Living Wage on charitable residential care homes who do not benefit from the reduction in corporation tax rates.

Nick Boles: The National Living Wage supports the UK in moving from a low wage, high tax, high welfare society to a higher wage, lower tax, lower welfare society.   We are working with employers in the social care sector, including care providers from the voluntary sector, to understand how the introduction of the National Living Wage will affect them.

Department for International Development

World Bank

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the UK contribution was to the World Bank in (a) paid in capital and (b) callable capital in each of the last five years.

Grant Shapps: The table below shows the UK contributions to the World Bank (specifically to IBRD, the non-concessional lending arm of the World Bank) in paid in capital and callable capital in each of the last five years. Please note that the UK did not pay in additional capital to IBRD or contribute additional callable capital in 2010. Additional contributions to multilateral development bank’s capital are infrequent and only happen through General or Selective Capital Increases (known as GCIs and SCIs). The most recent of these for IBRD became effective in 2011. The paid in amount is fixed in US dollar terms. As such the Sterling amount varies slightly each year depending on the exchange rate. The callable element increases on a pro-rata basis as each paid in contribution is made and is reported in US Dollars in IBRD’s accounts.  Paid- in capital - Sterling paid equivalent to US $31,114,059 (paid in December of each stated year)Callable capital (as stated in IBRD audited accounts at June 30th of following year)2010n/a$7,832.2m2011 £19,957,703$8,319.6m2012£19,451,149$8,807.1m2013£19,047,480$9,294.4m2014£19,915,547$9,781.9m

Developing Countries: Biodiversity

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the total value was of projects funded by her Department to improve or conserve biodiversity in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15; and what such spending is expected to be in each of the next five years.

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what her Department's total spending on projects to improve or conserve biodiversity was in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15; and what such spending is expected to be in each of the next five years.

Grant Shapps: DFID funding focused on biodiversity was £29.1 million in 2010-11, £20.6 million in 2011-12, £18.3 million in 2012-13 and £35.1 million in 2013-14. This includes our relevant contributions to the Global Environment Facility. Data for 2014/15 and 2015/16 will be published once available. DFID has also transferred £5.5 million per annum since 2011 to DEFRA for the Darwin Initiative. This is not accounted for in the above numbers. Future funding levels for biodiversity will be determined as part of the current Spending Review process

Iraq: Overseas Aid

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Government is providing any financial support to the Iraqi Government (a) in loans, (b) through the international development budget and (c) through other international bodies to support reconstruction of areas recaptured from ISIL.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The Department for International Development does not provide any financial support to the Government of Iraq, in loans, through the international development budget, or through other international bodies to support reconstruction of areas recaptured from ISIL. Since summer 2014, DFID has committed £59.5 million to help address the needs of the 8.6 million people across Iraq that require some form of humanitarian assistance. This funding is delivered via UN agencies and humanitarian organisations.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the total value was of projects funded by her Department on climate change adaptation in each year since 2010-11; and how much is planned to be spent in each year up to 2019-20.

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what her Department's total spending was on climate change adaptation in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15; and what that spending is expected to be in each of the next five years.

Grant Shapps: DFID support to help people adapt to the impacts of climate is delivered in an integrated way through a range of programmes. Since the International Climate Fund was established in 2011/12 approximate funding is as follows: 2011/12 - £136m2012/13 – £212m2013/14 – £304m  Data for 2014/15 and 2015/16 will be published once available.  Future funding levels for spend on climate change will be determined as part of the current Spending Review process.

Burma: Rohingya

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what reports she has received on the levels of malnutrition in camps for internally displaced Rohingya in Rakhine State, Burma; and what aid the UK Government is providing to those camps.

Mr Desmond Swayne: According to Save the Children, the level of acute and chronic malnutrition in the camps is poor. The most recent reports state that acute malnutrition was between 8.5% and 11.8% in the different camp areas, and stunting up to 52%. DFID is providing funding for treatment of severe acute and chronic malnutrition, as well as funding for water and sanitation work that helps to prevent malnutrition. Over 126,000 internally displaced and conflict affected people in Rakhine benefit from our support to water and sanitation and nutrition.  DFID is one of the largest bilateral humanitarian donors in Rakhine, and has provided over £18 million since 2012.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much of the £32 million of aid pledged by the UK at the Cairo Donor Conference in 2014 to cover disposal of unexploded ordnance, rubble clearing and reconstructive surgery has been disbursed to date; and how much more such aid is planned to be sent in future.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK pledged £20 million in early recovery assistance at the Gaza reconstruction conference in Cairo last year. We have disbursed all of this pledge and will disburse further funds for Gaza throughout the financial year.

Department for Education

Primary Education: Ramadan

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department issued to primary school head teachers on working with pupils who wanted to fast during Ramadan.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education has not issued guidance to primary schools on fasting during Ramadan as it is a matter for individual schools to decide how to accommodate pupils who wish to fast during this time. We would expect schools to consider carefully the views of pupils and parents, as well as pupil wellbeing, when applying policies involving religion or individuals’ beliefs. All schools must ensure that any measures they take comply with their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010.   The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published detailed practical guidance for schools, available online at: www.equalityhumanrights.com/private-and-public-sector-guidance/education-providers/education-providers-schools-guidance

Special Educational Needs

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Government plans to issue guidance on progress of pupils with SEN.

Edward Timpson: The majority of pupils at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 with diagnosed special educational needs (SEN) have progress measured in the same way as all pupils – from their end of Key Stage 1 results to their end of Key Stage 2 results.   The Department for Education has announced an expert review of assessment for pupils who, for many reasons, are working below the standard of national curriculum tests. This group of pupils includes some children with SEN, who may be assessed by p-scales or who may be working above p-scales but below the standard of the tests.   The review will advise on the best way to assess the attainment and progress of these pupils. The department expects the group carrying out the review to publish its final report by December 2015.

Child Minding

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many childminders have registered with childminder agencies to date.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Childminder agencies (CMAs) are commercial organisations, independent of government. It is for them to develop their business plans and decide how many childminders they aim to register. The Department for Education does not collect data on the number of childminders registered with them.

Child Minding

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's target was for the number of childminders to register with childminder agencies.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Childminder agencies (CMAs) are ‘one-stop-shop’ organisations that help childminders with training, business support, advice and finding parents. They also provide a valuable service for parents who want to find a high quality childminder that suits their working patterns.   The childminder agency legislation is enabling. CMAs are commercial organisations, independent of government, and it is for them to decide how many childminders to register. Childminders have the choice of whether or not to join an agency.

Foster Care

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to review (a) standards of foster care and (b) criteria for becoming a foster carer.

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that foster care is of the highest possible standard.

Edward Timpson: Ofsted is responsible for the regulation and inspection of all independent fostering services and includes local authority fostering services within their wider inspection protocol.   In 2013, the government streamlined and strengthened the assessment and approval process for foster carers. All foster carers continue to undergo a full and comprehensive assessment before they are approved by a fostering service. Supporting the recruitment and retention of foster carers is a priority - it is through the skills and dedication of these foster carers and those who work with them that we will improve outcomes for looked-after children. From 2013 to 2015, the government also invested £750,000 to support four local authority regional consortia to develop innovative strategies to help them recruit and retain the foster carers they need in their local area. In April 2015, the government also amended regulations to introduce ‘long term foster care’ as a distinct placement type. In cases such as these, statutory guidance is clear that the local authority should assess the ability of the identified foster carer to care for the child (this may be the foster carers currently looking after the child, or new carers who are best able to meet the child’s needs).

Schools: Nurses

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what regulations cover the provision of school nurses in (a) local authority schools, (b) private schools and (c) free schools.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has been made of the quality of the provision, coverage and monitoring of school nurses in private and free schools.

Nick Gibb: The delivery of nursing services within publicly-funded schools is for local determination, and commissioning is led by local authorities. In some areas schools have co-commissioned additional services based on the health needs of the population within their school or locality. Guidance on commissioning school nursing services for local authorities, published by the Department of Health, is available online at:www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/303769/Service_specifications.pdf   School nursing services are monitored by the Care Quality Commission in terms of the quality of provision in an area, but the commission does not monitor individual settings or the extent to which individual schools engage with the service.   In terms of nursing provision in independent schools, there is no specific requirement for such schools to have nurses or for staff to have particular qualifications. If nursing is provided, regulatory requirements relating to the health and welfare of pupils – and also boarding welfare if the school has boarding provision – are relevant.   No assessment of the quality of nursing services in independent schools has been made.

Pre-school Education: Special Educational Needs

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what training and development is provided to staff in early years settings in (a) the identification of and (b) support for children with speech, language and communication needs.

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support is available for early years settings where Ofsted inspections have identified a need to improve provision for children with speech, language and communication needs; and from which sources such support is provided.

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what legal duties local authorities have to support early years settings in the identification of, and support for, children with speech, language and communication needs.

Edward Timpson: The development of all children’s speech, language and communication during their early years is a priority for government. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the prime areas of learning that early years providers must follow and this includes a focus on communication and language. The EYFS requires providers to have arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs or disabilities. In England the Early Years Educator Criteria and the Teachers’ Standards (Early Years) also require the staff in question to deliver the EYFS.   The Teachers’ Standards (Early Years) requires early years teachers to demonstrate a clear understanding of the needs of all children, including those with speech, language and communication or other special educational needs or disabilities. It requires teachers to be able to use and evaluate distinctive approaches to engage and support children and to have the skills and awareness to know when a child is in need of additional support. The Department for Education provides grants to a number of expert organisations so that they can support the early years workforce to meet the needs of children with speech, language and communication difficulties. This includes providing access to best practice, tools and training. A range of organisations and bodies also provide advice and support to their members on this issue.   Where Ofsted inspectors have identified areas of improvement it is the responsibility of the early years setting to put an improvement plan in place. Local authorities are required by legislation to secure information, advice and training for early years providers judged less than good on their last Ofsted inspection report, including to help the provider meet the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities.   Under section 22 of the Children and Families Act 2014 local authorities in England are required to identify all the children and young people in their area (i) who have or may have special educational needs, and (ii) who have a disability. Section 23 places a duty on clinical commissioning groups, NHS trusts or NHS foundation trusts if they are of the opinion that a child under compulsory school age has (or probably has) special educational needs or a disability, to tell the local authority and child’s parents.   Local authorities in England must ensure that all providers they fund are aware of the requirement on them to have regard to the special educational needs and disability - code of practice and to meet the needs of children with special educational needs or disabilities.

Hawthorns School

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects to approve the redesignation of Hawthorns School in Denton and Reddish constituency as a teaching school.

Nick Gibb: The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) concluded its review into the effectiveness of a number of teaching schools, including the Hawthorns School, in July 2015.   NCTL wrote to the Hawthorns School on 17 July 2015 to confirm that this review had identified sufficient evidence of success across the alliance of schools and thanked them for their contribution. The Hawthorns School continues to be designated as a teaching school.

Children: Literacy

Keir Starmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the childhood literacy rate was in (a) Holborn and St Pancras constituency, (b) the London Borough of Camden, (c) London and (d) England in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education does not hold the information requested.

Children: Day Care

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many childcare places are available in schools for children aged five and under; and how many such places are registered on the Early Years Register.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many childcare places are available in schools for children eligible for the current 15 hours a week free childcare; and how many such places are registered on the Early Years Register.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many childcare places are available in schools; and how many such places are registered on the Early Years Register.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Schools are an important provider of early education and childcare and the government has improved the regulatory framework and supported schools to help them deliver more places for children.   Ofsted is responsible for registering providers on the Early Years Register (EYR). The number of 2, 3 and 4 year olds receiving funded early education in state-funded schools is published in the statistical first release “Provision for children under 5 years of age” and is published online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-childcare-and-early-years

Special Educational Needs

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what entry-level qualifications are available to students with special educational needs who are educated in a special school setting.

Edward Timpson: A list of entry level qualifications approved by the Secretary of State and other Ofqual regulated qualifications is published online at http://register.ofqual.gov.uk/Qualification.   These are the qualifications that can be available to pupils under the age of 19 with special educational needs in maintained special schools, academies and free schools. Non-maintained special schools can offer a range of qualifications which are approved under section 98 of the 2000 Act. It is for the school to choose which of these qualifications are suitable to meet the needs of its particular pupils.

St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox School

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support plans for development of the site and premises of St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox Free School.

Edward Timpson: We are taking every step we can, in partnership with the London Borough of Barnet, the Greater London Authority and the owners of the school’s current site in North London Business Park to allow it to remain there permanently.

Teachers: Training

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure the sustainability of designated teaching schools when funding is withdrawn due to a non-exceptional Ofsted inspection.

Nick Gibb: Teaching schools are outstanding schools which work with others to provide high-quality training and support in their area and make an important contribution to raising standards in schools. There are currently 691 designated teaching schools working with over 500 school partnerships (‘alliances’) across England. The government recognises the commitment and hard work of the headteachers and staff at these schools and the contribution they make.   To ensure that teaching schools continue to deliver high-quality support, the National College for Teaching and Leadership undertakes a review of teaching schools whenever circumstances change, including when an Ofsted inspection results in the school no longer being judged to be outstanding.  The review is undertaken in accordance with the ‘teaching schools review of designation policy’, published on GOV.UK at:  www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384358/teaching-school-rod-policy.pdf Over 100 alliances are led by more than one teaching school, further strengthening the sustainability of their support.

Academies

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Minister of State for Education's Answer of 8 July 2015 to Question 4880, on academies, which academies had their funding arrangements changed under that procedure.

Edward Timpson: 32 academy trusts have requested a change to their funding agreement and have made the amendment. These are listed below.  Seaton AcademyImpington Village CollegeParkstone Grammar School TrustBartley Green SchoolKnutsford AcademyBrampton Manor Academy (Brampton Manor Trust)Dover Federation for the ArtsBluecoat Academy (Bluecoat Academies Trust)The Milford AcademyJohn Cleveland CollegeThe West Bridgford School (East Midlands Educational Trust)Springwood High School (West Norfolk Academies Trust)St Christophers Academy DunstableHaybridge High School and Sixth FormKing Edward VI SchoolBiggleswade Academy (Biggleswade Academy Trust)Tring SchoolChadwell Heath AcademyRingmer Community CollegeDenefield AcademyWilson's SchoolProspect SchoolHenrietta Barnett SchoolThamesmead SchoolEden Park AcademyKirk Hallam Community Academy (Kirk Hallam Community Technology and Sports College)Park View Educational TrustUniversity of Chester ATAlcester Grammar SchoolAylesbury Vale Academy (Legra Academy Trust)Huish Episcopi AcademyThe Holy Trinity Church of England Primary Academy

Pupils: Rickets

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will provide guidance to head teachers and governors of primary schools on the appropriateness of head covering for girl pupils in order to help tackle rickets.

Nick Gibb: The Department for Education does not intend to provide specific guidance to headteachers and governors of primary schools on the appropriateness of head covering for girls in order to help tackle rickets.   The department provides advice to schools on health and safety. Schools must take reasonable steps to ensure that staff and pupils are not exposed to risks to their health or safety by conducting a risk assessment and, if necessary, putting measures in place to minimise any known risk.   It is for individual schools to decide whether or not to provide guidance on the appropriateness of head covering. It is for the governing body of each school to set their own policies on school uniform and other matters of appearance. Our guidance to schools on school uniform is clear that, in doing so, they must have full regard to their obligations under equalities law.

Schools: Governing Bodies

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school governors have been removed from office under section 128 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 in each month since June 2008.

Edward Timpson: The associated regulations of section 128 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, with the power to bar people from management positions in independent schools, came into force in September 2014. Given legal processes are ongoing, we will not comment on the number of live cases at this stage.

School Leaving: Cumbria

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of school leavers entered (a) further education and (b) apprenticeships in (i) Copeland constituency and (ii) Cumbria in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Boles: Destination measures have been published for four years and show the proportion of pupils completing key stage 4 and key stage 5[1] going to a range of sustained[2] education and training destinations. The latest data available are for students entering a destination in 2012/13.   Destination measures data at Parliamentary constituency level were not published in the first year.   Destination measures data are published online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations  [1] Defined as students entered for A level or other level 3 qualification.[2] Defined as October to March in the destination year

Children's Centres

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will maintain the staff-child ratio in children's centres for the duration of this Parliament.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Children’s centres have an important role offering families access to a wide range of local, flexible services, tackling disadvantage and preparing children for life in modern Britain. The latest figures show that a majority of centres achieved a rating of good or outstanding overall at their last inspection[1].   The staffing ratios for all early years childcare providers, including children’s centres, are set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework available online here https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/335504/EYFS_framework_from_1_September_2014__with_clarification_note.pdf  The safety of children is of paramount importance and the EYFS is clear that staffing arrangements must ensure the safety and welfare of all children. [1] Ofsted’s Children's centre inspection outcomes shows 67% of inspected single children’s centres were judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection (31 March 2015). The statistics are available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/437736/Children_s_centres_inspections_and_outcomes_January_to_March_2015__provisional_.pdf.

Children: Day Care

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the recent change in entry requirements to NVQ Level 3 Childcare on the recruitment of childcare apprentices.

Mr Sam Gyimah: In July the government announced that trainees wishing to undertake Early Years Educator qualifications, either through an apprenticeship or a standalone course, would be able to study for their GCSE English and Maths alongside their childcare training, rather than being required to hold them on entry to their level 3 course.   By increasing access to both apprenticeships and standalone courses, individuals will have greater choice and will be able to take up a course that suits their personal circumstances. The changes have been welcomed by the childcare sector, including membership organisations that represent both childcare businesses and individuals who work in childcare. The expected outcome is that a greater number of trainees will be able to access training and subsequently employment in the childcare sector.

Ministry of Justice

Members: Correspondence

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to the email sent by the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham on 13 May regarding the case of a constituent receiving inadequate support and provision on leaving jail, and the follow-up email sent in 17 June.

Andrew Selous: I responded to the Hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham on 8 June.

Courts: Buildings

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Written Statement of 16 July 2015 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service, HLWS108, what estimate he has made of job losses arising as a result of his proposals to reduce the cost of the court estate.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The consultation paper on the provision of court and tribunal estate in England and Wales will run for 12 weeks from 16 July 2015 until 8 October 2015. Any impact on staff arising as a result of these proposals are subject to the outcome of the consultation. No decisions will be made until every response has been considered carefully. https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/proposal-on-the-provision-of-court-and-tribunal-es

Courts: Buildings

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Written Statement of 16 July 2015 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service, what criteria will be used to determine which civic and other public buildings can be used for hearings.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Written Statement of 16 July 2015 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service, HLWS108, what assessment he has made of the time that would be required by citizens, under the proposed changes to the court estate, to reach their required court by public transport.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Written Statement of 16 July 2015 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service, HLWS108, what costs incurred on future improvements to courts proposed for closure will now be written off.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Written Statement of 16 July 2015 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service, HLWS108, what proportion of the savings made by reducing the cost of the court estate will be re-invested in that estate; and in what ways will it be re-invested.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The consultation paper on the provision of court and tribunal estate in England and Wales will run for 12 weeks from 16 July 2015 until 8 October 2015. Costs for any future improvements which might be written off and any savings as a result of reducing the estate that might be re-invested are all subject to the outcome of the consultation. The consultation also asks for views on what types of alternative provision might be appropriate if any sites are closed, including whether civic and other public buildings could be used for hearings. No decisions will be made until every response has been considered carefully. Information on travel times is included in each regional consultation paper.https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/proposal-on-the-provision-of-court-and-tribunal-es. It will still be the case that over 95% of citizens will be able to reach their required court within an hour by car and the proportion able to reach a tribunal within an hour by car will remain unchanged at 83%.

Prime Minister

Radicalism

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Prime Minister, which (a) Muslim and (b) non-governmental groups he consulted on the policies announced in his five-year counter-extremism strategy announced on 20 July 2015.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Prime Minister, which (a) Muslim and (b) other non-governmental groups he consulted on his counter-extremism speech made on 20 July 2015.

Mr David Cameron: Ministers and officials engage widely with partners across government, academia, faith groups and communities as part of the process of policy development and delivery. This includes in the development of the new counter-extremism measures I announced in my speech of 20 July, and our comprehensive new counter-extremism strategy that will launch later this year.

Ministry of Defence

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the contribution of the hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield of 15 July 2015, Official Report, column 887, what his policy is on deployment of armed drones outside of designated war zones; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: The decision to deploy aircraft is taken by Ministers after an assessment has been made on the effect that is required, together with the nature and location of the operation. The policy for the deployment of armed remotely piloted aircraft systems is the same as that for manned aircraft.

Early Warning Systems

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the UK's airborne early warning aircraft capability is for air and maritime threat to the UK.

Penny Mordaunt: The Royal Air Force has six Sentry airborne early warning Mk1 aircraft, which are declared to the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force and fulfil a range of roles including air and sea surveillance and airborne command and control.

Early Warning Systems

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what airborne early warning aircraft capability he plans will be available to the new aircraft carriers joining the UK fleet.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Queen Elizabeth Class carriers will have an airborne early warning capability provided by the CROWSNEST radar system fitted to the Merlin Mk2 helicopter. Additionally, the carriers will be capable of operating with other UK, NATO and Allied aircraft which can also provide airborne early warning capabilities.

Rescue Services: North Atlantic Ocean

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what search and rescue capability exists within the RAF covering missing aircraft in the North Atlantic.

Penny Mordaunt: The United Kingdom military aircraft search and rescue (SAR) capability currently consists of Royal Navy and Royal Air Force Sea King helicopters, which can assist in the search for missing aircraft in the North Sea.In addition, the RAF Sentry airborne early warning aircraft can carry out maritime surveillance and also act as the airborne command and control node for any coordinated SAR operation.The RAF Air Transport fleet can also be called upon; in particular the national standby C-130 (Hercules), which can be fitted with air sea rescue equipment and can be used to provide SAR cover.

Nigeria: Boko Haram

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK security assistance to the government of Nigeria to tackle Boko Haram is not diverted or misused for corrupt ends.

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what conditions are attached to the receipt of security assistance from the UK by the government of Nigeria.

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the conditions attached as part of the arrangement whereby the government of Nigeria receives security assistance from the UK includes a requirement (a) that individuals accused or convicted of corruption will be prevented from participating in military training and (b) for budget transparency.

Penny Mordaunt: The UK welcomes the new Nigerian Federal administration's commitment to tackling corruption as a priority. We continue to support Nigeria in this regard and stand ready to do more. We are scaling up our efforts to help address the political and economic incentives of corruption, the Nigerian authorities' capacity and ability to tackle it, and strengthen how the Nigerian public sector is accountable to the Nigerian people. The training and advisory support that the UK provides to the Nigerian armed forces constitutes assistance in kind and cannot be diverted or misused for corrupt ends. As such it is not subject to conditions related to corruption but when providing security and justice assistance to another nation the Ministry of Defence is required under Her Majesty's Government's Overseas Security and Justice Assistance Human Rights Guidance to consider the possibility of that assistance directly or significantly contributing to a violation of human rights and to identify measures that mitigate this risk.

Syria: Military Operations

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Written Statement on UK Embedded forces, Official Report, HCWS149, 20 July 2015, what provision he has made with the Syrian government for the repatriation of UK military personnel flying missions over Syrian territory in the event of an allied aircraft containing UK personnel being shot down.

Penny Mordaunt: The coalition takes appropriate measures to reduce the risk to aircraft and personnel, including personnel recovery capabilities. The coalition does not work with Assad. Therefore the UK does not have any provisions in place with the Syrian government for the repatriation of UK military personnel.

Middle East: Special Forces

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the British Special Forces were embedded with US operations against ISIS in (a) Iraq and (b) Syria in each month since May 2014.

Michael Fallon: It is the longstanding policy of the Government not to comment on special forces.

Syria: Military Aircraft

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2015, Official Report, column 580, whether the Government has sought permission from the Syrian government for Royal Air Force intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft to operate over Syria; and when such permission was granted.

Michael Fallon: No.

HMS Enterprise

Stuart McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to his Department's budget has been of the use of HMS Enterprise in the Mediterranean.

Penny Mordaunt: HMS ENTERPRISE is currently based in the Mediterranean Sea in support of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy Operation, which remains ongoing. For this period of activity the Ministry of Defence (MOD) will receive the net additional costs of the use of HMS ENTERPRISE, from the Deployed Military Activity Pool (DMAP). In line with established HM Treasury policy the MOD recovers only the net additional costs of an activity from the DMAP, which are those costs that the department would not have incurred but for undertaking that activity. As such, the use of HMS ENTERPRISE in the Mediterranean is cost neutral to the defence budget.

Ministry of Defence: Cumbria

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people based in Cumbria his Department has employed in each of the last 10 years.

Mark Lancaster: The table shows the number of Armed Forces personnel and civilian personnel employed by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in each of the last 10 years who were stationed in Cumbria. Ministry of Defence Personnel Located in CumbriaYearArmed Forces Personnel(see notes 1 & 3)Civilian Personnel(see notes 2 & 3)April 2005120460April 2006120480April 2007210440April 2008270400April 2009320420April 2010340420April 2011260420April 2012310390April 2013200350April 2014240340April 2015290310 Note 1 - Figures are for UK Regular Forces (including both trained and untrained personnel), and exclude Gurkhas, Full time Reserve Service personnel and mobilised reservists.Note 2 – Figures for civilian personnel relate to full-time and part-time, permanent and casual MOD employees and exclude Royal Fleet Auxiliary and locally engaged personnel.Note 3 - Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, though numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. The figures for Service personnel are based on their station location and not their location of residence, as personnel do not necessarily live where they work. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location.

Intelligence Services: Training

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will extend his Department's criteria for admission to training for sensitive officer roles to include citizens of countries that are signatories to the UKUSA Agreement who are resident in the UK.

Penny Mordaunt: The Ministry of Defence has no plans to change the relevant admission criteria.The assessments which underpin the selection of these criteria are informed by international agreements concerned with the protection of UK and allies' information.

Economic and Monetary Union

Marcus Fysh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that economic instability in parts of the Eurozone does not have a detrimental effect on the defence-industrial relationship between the UK and (a) Italy and (b) other EU member states.

Mr Philip Dunne: The UK has a long tradition of collaborative working with European partners on joint defence programmes and maintains regular dialogue with European Union member states, including Italy, to discuss existing and future cooperative programmes. All EU nations are subject to EU procurement directives, which ensures a culture of open, transparent and fair competition is maintained on public procurement projects. Open competitive markets and more efficient cross-border cooperation are key methods of sustaining our defence industrial capabilities against a backdrop of wider economic instability. We regularly review the financial and business robustness of our supply chain, covering both UK-based and foreign-owned suppliers. Any risks or concerns are addressed as part of normal commercial activity and through regular meetings with our suppliers.

Middle East: Armed Forces

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues, prior to receiving the Freedom of Information Act application by Reprieve, on whether a statement should be made to Parliament on British servicepeople embedded in allies' forces operating in the Middle East.

Michael Fallon: None. It has been standard practice not to publicise the placing of embeds with other countries' forces, as they are their forces and their operations.

Marines

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the strength of the Mountain Leader Training Cadre was in each quarter since Q1 2010.

Penny Mordaunt: The information requested is provided in the table: Date of strengthOfficerRatingTotal(1)1 April 201040801201 July 201040901301 October 201040901301 January 201140801201 April 201140801201 July 201140801201 October 201140801201 January 201240801201 April 201240701101 July 201240901401 October 2012401001501 January 2013401201601 April 2013401201601 July 2013401301701 October 2013401301601 January 2014401602001 April 2014401601901 July 2014401602001 October 2014401602001 January 2015301501901 April 2015301501801 July 201530150180 (1) Source: Defence Statistics (Navy) 31 July 2015. All figures are rounded in accordance with the Defence Statistics Policy, therefore, the totals may not equal the sum of their component parts. Numbers over 100 are rounded to the nearest 10 with numbers ending in 5 rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid bias. Numbers under 100 are rounded to the nearest 5.

Armed Forces

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and in which countries British military personnel were embedded in (a) each of the last five years and (b) 2015 to date.

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in which countries British military personnel embedded with US forces are currently taking part in active duty.

Michael Fallon: Given the routine nature of embedding, this information has not been coordinated centrally. We are now in the process of collecting data on personnel embedded in other nations' armed forces, and I will write to the hon. Member in due course.

Armed Forces

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's expenditure has been on British troops embedded with foreign or international forces in each of the last five years; and what proportion of that expenditure was defined as overseas development aid.

Michael Fallon: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Department for Work and Pensions

Registration of Births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnerships: Equality

Mr David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Schedule 6 of the Welfare Reform Act 2009, when he expects the Government to implement equal birth registration.

Priti Patel: The Government is currently reviewing this policy.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many medical assessment centres there are for (a) employment and support allowance applicants and (b) personal independence payment claimants living within 90 minutes travelling time by public transport from the PR1 8UQ postcode.

Justin Tomlinson: There are 4 assessment centres within 90 minutes travelling distance, by public transport, from PR1 8UQ for Employment and Support Allowance applicants: Preston, Burnley, Wigan, and Blackpool. There are currently 18 Personal Independence Payment assessment centres within 90 minutes travel time by public transport from the PR1 8UQ postcode, including two within the wider PR1 postcode area. A full list of PIP assessment centres in North West England is available at: http://www.atoshealthcare.com/pip/consultation_locations/north_west_england.

Low Incomes

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he intends to publish the next edition of the Low Income Dynamics analysis.

Priti Patel: The Department for Work and Pensions is currently analysing the first four waves of the new Understanding Society survey in order to produce an updated Low Income Dynamics publication. We will pre-announce the timing of the publication in line with National Statistics Codes of Practice at the appropriate stage in this analysis.

Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone Services

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many higher-rate telephone numbers his Department operates for new and existing claimants, and for which benefit categories; and what the average cost and duration is of each call to each of those numbers by benefit category.

Priti Patel: The Department’s current policy is that calls to claim benefit by telephone should be free to a customer so it uses 0800 free phone numbers where these calls typically take longer. The current Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) policy is that all calls should be free to our 0800 numbers to claim: · State Pension;· Pension Credit;· Jobseeker’s Allowance;· Income Support;· Employment Support Allowance; and,· Personal Independence Payment It is free to call DWP 0800 numbers from all major landline providers. DWP has secured agreements to ensure that it is free to call via six of the UK’s largest mobile phone operators. For other enquiry helplines the Department has now introduced 0345 numbers and has started the process to cease offering 0845 number options from 1 July. Any charges that apply to these calls will be set by the customer’s telephone or mobile operator and vary depending on call plan type and the time of day at which the call is made. Calls to 0345 numbers cost no more than a standard geographic call, and count towards any free or inclusive minutes in your landline or mobile phone contract. DWP does not use premium rate numbers.

Social Security Benefits: Tooting

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Tooting constituency have been affected by the benefit cap.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been affected by the benefit cap in Greater London since April 2013.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been affected by the benefit cap in the London Borough of Wandsworth since April 2013.

Justin Tomlinson: Data on the number of households capped since April 2013 by geographical breakdown can be found in Stat-Xplore, the Department’s online interactive tabulation tool, which can be accessed here: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Oral Question  of the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish of 15 July 2015, Official Report, column 889, on state pensions for women, if he will take steps to provide financial support to those women affected by those changes.

Justin Tomlinson: As independent analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown, the rise in women’s State Pension age since 2010 has been accompanied by increases in employment rates for the women affected. Those who are unable to work because of health problems may be able to claim Employment and Support Allowance, whilst those who are unemployed may be able to receive Jobseeker's Allowance. All those affected by faster equalisation will reach State Pension age after the introduction of the new State Pension. The new State Pension will be more generous for many women who have historically done poorly under the current, two-tier system, largely as a result of lower average earnings and part-time working. Around 650,000 women reaching State Pension age in the first ten years will receive an average of £8 per week (in 2014/15 earnings terms) more due to the new State Pension valuation of their National Insurance record.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Oral Question  of the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish of 21 July 2015, Official Report, column 889, on state pensions for women, what recent discussions the Minister of State for Pensions has had with (a) his Ministerial colleagues and (b) campaign groups on the effect of those changes on women born in the 1950s.

Justin Tomlinson: The Minister has not met formally with campaign group representatives but is in frequent contact with relevant stakeholders across her portfolio. The Government will not be revisiting the State Pension age timetable for women affected by the 2011 Act. Government carried out extensive analysis of the impacts of bringing forward the rise to 66 when legislating for the change. The decision to bring forward a Government amendment to the timetable originally set out in the bill, to cap the maximum increase at 18 months rather than 2 years, was informed by this analysis. We are currently preparing for the first State Pension age review, which will conclude by May 2017. Alongside updated life expectancy projections, this review will be informed by an independent report, which will consider wider factors that should be taken into account when setting State Pension age, such as healthy life expectancy, variations in life expectancy between different groups, and wider economic issues.

Social Security Benefits

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce delays in the payments of personal independence payments and universal credit.

Justin Tomlinson: We have implemented a wide range of initiatives across the whole Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claiming journey to speed up processes and clear more claims and are continuing to identify further opportunities to drive forward improvements. Figures released on 17 June (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-april-2013-to-april-2015) reflect the significant progress made over the past year and show claims for PIP are now being cleared at four times the rate they were in January 2014. The average new claimant now only waits for 5 weeks for an assessment, and the number of cases dealt with by the assessment providers has more than quadrupled in the last year. There are no delays in the payment of Universal Credit. All new claims assessed are processed within the required timescales.

Pensions: Private Sector

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish guidance for people with private sector pensions on the effect of decisions to change the basis on which pensions are uprated on those people.

Justin Tomlinson: Increases to private sector pensions in payment will depend on the scheme rules. The Government sets a statutory minimum for the indexation of certain defined benefit pensions accrued between specific dates and, as long as schemes meet this minimum, they may choose how and when to increase pensions in payment and on what basis. In some cases rules may contain a requirement for specific increases; in others the trustees can exercise their discretion. It is, therefore, for the scheme to provide members with information about any changes to pensions in payment.

Universal Credit: Scotland

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people in Scotland who will be claiming universal credit in April (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (c) 2018, (d) 2019 and (e) 2020.

Priti Patel: The Department is not setting targets for numbers in receipt of Universal Credit because numbers will vary according to factors such as economic circumstances and the behavioural change of claimants.

Children: Poverty

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Clause 4 of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill, what steps he plans to take to ensure that incidence of children living in poverty in households where at least one adult in work is recorded and reported.

Priti Patel: Clause 4 of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill intends to place a new duty on the Secretary of State to report annually on children in workless households and the educational attainment of children.

Social Security Benefits: Scotland

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of households in Scotland which will be affected by the proposed decrease in the household benefit cap.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people living in Tooting constituency who are likely to move home because of a reduction in the benefit cap to £23,000.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of children living in households in Tooting constituency likely to be affected by a reduction in the benefit cap to £23,000.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of children living in households in London likely to be affected by a reduction in the benefit cap to £23,000.

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people living in London who are likely to move home because of a reduction in the benefit cap to £23,000.

Justin Tomlinson: The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. A link to the impact assessment on the www.parliament.uk website is included.http://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-006.pdf

Housing Benefit: Young People

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, who he plans will be exempt from the removal of automatic entitlement to housing benefit for people aged 18 to 21.

Justin Tomlinson: To prevent young people slipping straight into a life on benefits, from April 2017 the Government will remove the automatic entitlement to housing support for new claims in Universal Credit from 18-21 year olds who are out of work. This will ensure young people in the benefits system face the same choices as young people who work and who may not be able to afford to leave home. We will ensure that vulnerable young people who are in need of support for their housing needs continue to receive it. Government will consider the impact in line with our legal obligations as part of that process.

Social Security Benefits: Tooting

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of how many people in Tooting constituency have moved home as a result of the implementation of the benefit cap.

Justin Tomlinson: The information is not available.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Bethnal Green and Bow

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobseekers have been sanctioned in Bethnal Green and Bow constituency in each of the last six years.

Priti Patel: The information requested is published athttps://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/: Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started---SuperWEB2.html

Children's Commissioner for England

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times he has met the Children's Commissioner for England in each year since his initial appointment as Secretary of State.

Justin Tomlinson: Details of meetings with external organisations held by DWP Ministers are published quarterly on Gov.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/387937/ministers-meetings-apr-jun-2014.pdf  The Secretary of State has met once with the Children’s Commissioner in 2012/13.

Housing Benefit: Young People

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the proposed changes to housing benefit entitlement for people aged 18 to 21 announced in the Summer Budget 2015 on levels of homelessness.

Justin Tomlinson: To prevent young people slipping straight into a life on benefits, from April 2017 the Government will remove the automatic entitlement to housing support for new claims in Universal Credit from 18-21 year olds who are out of work. This will ensure young people in the benefits system face the same choices as young people who work and who may not be able to afford to leave home. We will ensure that vulnerable young people who are in need of support for their housing needs continue to receive it. Government will consider the impact in line with our legal obligations as part of that process.

Children: Poverty

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he consulted the Children's Commissioner for England on the redefinition of measures of child poverty.

Priti Patel: On November 2012, the Coalition Government published Measuring Child Poverty: A consultation on better measures of child poverty. The public consultation launched on 15 November 2012 and closed on 15 February 2013. The Children’s Commissioner for England responded to the consultation. Additionally, the Secretary of State met with the Children’s Commissioner for England in 2012/13 to discuss child poverty.

Access to Work Programme

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what work his Department is undertaking to estimate the likely return on investment in the Access to Work Programme.

Justin Tomlinson: Access to Work is a flexible scheme providing different sized awards tailored to individual circumstances which will therefore deliver different levels of return on investment for different cases. Officials have undertaken research to explore the potential costs and benefits of Access to Work expenditure, including the impacts on social security expenditure and income tax returns. However, It is difficult to establish an overall value for money figure. The main reason is that there is no readily available comparison group against which to assess the difference the programme makes to someone’s likelihood of being in work. Despite this the Government recognise the value users, employers and stakeholders place on the scheme and so the Government is committed to continue to build the evidence base with stakeholders’ input to understand the value Access to Work adds.

Unemployment: Young People

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he plans to take to reduce youth unemployment.

Priti Patel: Youth unemployment has fallen 200,000 since 2010 and the youth claimant count has fallen for 44 consecutive months, to its lowest level since the 1970s. As announced at the Summer Budget, from 2017 we are introducing the Youth Obligation, a new package of support for most 18-21 year olds on Universal Credit.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to publish statistics on the number of people with disabilities claiming benefits who take their own lives.

Justin Tomlinson: The department does not collect information on cause or manner of death of an individual, although it does keep a record of the date of death.

Employment and Support Allowance

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the statistics on people who died after claiming employment and support allowance published by his Department on 27 August 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the statistics on people who died after claiming employment and support allowance published by his Department on 27 August 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Priti Patel: Whilst any death is extremely distressing for the family no causal link whatsoever can be made between the likelihood of dying and the fact that someone is claiming benefits.

Unemployment: Young People

Mims Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department provides to young people seeking work.

Priti Patel: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today to Oral Question UIN 901156.

Industrial Health and Safety

Tom Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Health and Safety Executive has carried out research into the potential risks associated with hydraulic fracturing.

Justin Tomlinson: It is not necessary for HSE to commission new research in order to be confident that it can regulate the shale industry effectively, due to the broad range of shale research already available and HSE's existing knowledge of oil and gas extraction. I have asked HSE to keep the situation under review.

Unemployment: Young People

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to tackle youth unemployment.

Priti Patel: Youth unemployment has fallen 200,000 since 2010 and the youth claimant count has fallen for 44 consecutive months, to its lowest level since the 1970s. As announced at the Summer Budget, from 2017 we are introducing the Youth Obligation, a new package of support for most 18-21 year olds on Universal Credit.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Tree Planting

Mr Nick Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will set a target for tree planting by 2020.

Rory Stewart: As promised in our manifesto, we have committed to planting 11 million trees during this Parliament, which we plan to do primarily through the Rural Development Programme’s Countryside Stewardship scheme. This scheme aims to invest £18 million on new woodland planting each year.   We are also encouraging more tree planting in several other ways. For example, by attracting private investment in woodland creation through the Woodland Carbon Code and looking for ways to improve the Environmental Impact Assessment process. We are also helping to increase demand for wood by supporting forestry businesses to further increase their competitiveness, productivity and innovation, through other schemes under the Rural Development Programme.   We also remain strongly supportive of sector-led initiatives, such as Grown in Britain and the Roots to Prosperity strategy, in their work to grow demand for wood by further developing and strengthening the woodland economy from ground level up.

Seas and Oceans: Pollution

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the level of marine pollution in (a) Copeland, (b) Cumbria and (c) England.

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the cleanliness of beaches in (a) Copeland and (b) Cumbria.

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce levels of marine pollution on the Cumbrian coast.

George Eustice: Charting Progress 2, published in 2010, made an assessment of marine pollution in UK waters. More details can be found at   http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20141203181034/http:/chartingprogress.defra.gov.uk/.   Further information on coastal waters is available through the Environment Agency’s Catchment Data Explorer at:   http://environment.data.gov.uk/catchment-planning/.   The Environment Agency and Marine Management Organisation also work in partnership to achieve cleaner coasts and healthier seas by implementing the requirements of the Water Framework Directive and the Bathing Water Directive. These Directives set quality standards and drive improvements to coastal water quality.   Results of the 2014 bathing water quality monitoring in Cumbria are in the table below.   Bathing WaterStandard AchievedWalney Biggar Bankminimum mandatory valueWalney Sandy Gapmore stringent guideline valueWalney West Shoreminimum mandatory valueHaveriggminimum mandatory valueSilecroftmore stringent guideline valueSeascaleminimum mandatory valueWindermere, Lakeside YMCAmore stringent guideline valueWindermere, Millerground Landingmore stringent guideline valueWindermere, Fellfootmore stringent guideline valueSt Beesmore stringent guideline valueAllonby Southminimum mandatory valueAllonbyminimum mandatory valueSillothminimum mandatory value   Defra works with and supports the work of “Keep Britain Tidy”. Haverigg, Silecroft and St Bees have won its Seaside Award, but no Cumbrian beaches have won a Blue Flag award this year.

Biodiversity

Albert Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will (a) publish separate 25-year plans to restore biodiversity and to grow more, buy more and sell more British food and (b) take steps to ensure that each such plan will contribute to the other's objectives.

Rory Stewart: We are putting in place an ambitious 25-year plan to promote and grow our world-leading food and farming industry, encouraging enterprise and boosting productivity right across the food chain.In addition, Defra is currently investing £4.2 million over three years in the Sustainable Intensification research Platform (SIP). This is designed to investigate integrated approaches for farmers to produce more food whilst simultaneously protecting and enhancing biodiversity, and the natural environment in general. The SIP will also develop tools to enable decision-makers to balance our need to produce more British food with the need to protect our natural resources.The Government is currently developing the framework that will guide the development of a 25-year environment plan for England, which will include biodiversity. Biodiversity policy is a devolved issue, but we will maintain a constructive dialogue with the Devolved Administrations throughout the development of the plan, through the Four Countries Biodiversity Group.The Government will, of course, ensure that these two long-term approaches complement each other.

Game: Animal Welfare

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has with shooting organisations before adding a specific bird or mammal to the protected list.

Rory Stewart: No animal or bird species have been added to the list of protected species for England since 2011. There have been no direct discussions with shooting organisations on any possible additions.All wild birds are protected in accordance with the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended).In accordance with the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee is required to review the protected animals (other than birds) listed in Schedule 5 of the Act every five years and to advise Ministers whether species of animals should be added to or removed from the Schedule. Defra undertakes a public consultation exercise on the proposed amendments to the Schedule and shooting organisations have an opportunity to respond.Nature conservation is a devolved matter and such issues are a matter for the devolved administrations.

Biodiversity

Albert Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will (a) publish a 25-year plan to restore biodiversity in the UK and (b) consult with devolved Parliamentary bodies and agencies on that plan.

Albert Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish a 25-year plan to restore biodiversity in the UK that includes (a) the biodiversity of the UK Overseas Territories and (b) an impact assessment on the effect of UK production and consumption on biodiversity in other countries.

Rory Stewart: The Government is developing a 25 year environment plan for England, which will include biodiversity. Biodiversity policy is a devolved matter but we will continue to talk to the devolved administrations throughout the development of the plan, including through the Four Countries Biodiversity Group.UK Overseas Territory (OT) Governments are constitutionally responsible for the protection and conservation of their natural environments. The Government cherishes the environmental assets of the OTs and we work with the Territory Governments to provide the support needed to ensure these are maintained. The 2012 White Paper on the UK’s OTs “Security, Success and Sustainability” and the UK Overseas Territories Biodiversity Strategy are key tools in achieving this. The Government hopes to provide its next report on its activity to support this strategy in the autumn.We have studied the evidence about displacement of environmental impacts associated with a global economy and this will be considered as part of our work to develop the 25 year environment plan. The Government already works to reduce the effect of UK production and consumption on the environment, for example through specific policies which promote the sustainable production and trade of palm oil, timber and woodfuel, thereby reducing the impact of their production on biodiversity in other countries.

Covent Garden Market Authority: Rents

Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what percentage rental increases tenants of New Covent Garden Market Authority have been subject to in the last five years; and what such increases that Authority has planned for future years.

Rory Stewart: The last rent review for the tenants of New Covent Garden Market was at the time of the renewal of the leases on the market as at 31st March 2010. At that time the rents across the market increased by 8.7%. There have been no increases since that date.Under the terms of the tenants’ leases the Covent Garden Market Authority (CGMA) is currently undertaking a rent review as at 31st March 2015. As negotiations with tenants on the level of increase continues, the proposals from CGMA are commercially confidential but the increases proposed are based on the increase in market rent for similar premises in the local area since the last rent review in 2010.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Assets

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total value was of her Department's flood and coastal erosion risk management assets in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15; and what estimate she has made of the likely value of such assets in each of the next five years.

Rory Stewart: The last full valuation of Environment Agency maintained flood and coastal erosion risk management infrastructure assets was done in 2010. They were valued at approximately £24 billion.There are currently no immediate plans to revalue the assets.

Arable Farming

Mrs Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department makes available to farmers on the management of arable field margins to provide benefits for wildlife.

George Eustice: Defra provides guidance to farmers and other land managers on the management of arable field margins as part of agri-environment schemes such as Environmental Stewardship. The new Countryside Stewardship scheme will continue and enhance this guidance.Farmers not wanting to sign up to an agri-environment scheme can obtain advice from a variety of sources, including the Campaign for the Farmed Environment.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Assets

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the net change was in the value of her Department's flood and coastal erosion risk management assets in each of the last five years; and what estimate she has made of the likely change in that value in each of the next five years.

Rory Stewart: The last full valuation of Environment Agency maintained flood and coastal erosion risk management infrastructure assets was done in 2010. They were valued at approximately £24 billion.There are currently no immediate plans to revalue the assets.

Air Pollution

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Supreme Court judgment in the case of R (on the application of ClientEarth) v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, by what date she plans to publish an updated consultation on local air quality management.

Rory Stewart: The Government intends to publish an updated consultation on local air quality management this autumn.

Forests: Sales

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total value was of public forest estate land sold in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15; and what estimate she has made of the likely value of such land sold in each of the next five years.

Rory Stewart: The values of public forest estate land sold in: · 2010-11 was £12.7m · 2011-12 was £5.6m · 2012-13 was £0.4m · 2013-14 was £0.43m and, · 2014-15 was £0.28m   We expect a broadly similar pattern of land disposal and acquisition to continue. This has resulted in a small net gain of public forest estates in recent years. No estimate of any future sales of any part of the Public Forest Estate has been made.

Integrated Administration and Control System

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department's news story, Environment Secretary calls for fewer inspections to make CAP simpler for farmers, published on 21 July 2015, what the scope is and what the evidential basis is for her call for a review of the Integrated Administration and Control System.

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department's news story, Environment Secretary calls for fewer inspections to make CAP simpler for farmers, published on 21 July 2015, what policies are included in the overhaul of the greening requirements she requested.

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department's news story, Environment Secretary calls for fewer inspections to make CAP simpler for farmers, published on 21 July 2015, what assessment she has made of the potential environmental effects of a reduction in (a) the number of inspections to check Ecological Focus Areas and (b) the overall number of CAP inspections.

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department's news story, Environment Secretary calls for fewer inspections to make CAP simpler for farmers, published on 21 July 2015, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of a reduction in (a) the number of inspections to check ecological focus areas and (b) the overall number of CAP inspections on progress towards meeting the biodiversity 2020 targets.

George Eustice: Our priority is a review of the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) to ensure inspections, penalties and controls are proportionate to the EU Fund, and costs to Member States' implementation. There are two key areas that underpin IACS that can help achieve this ambition: a simplification of the inspections regime to make it more proportionate and risk-based, whilst maintaining an effective fraud deterrent; and a more pragmatic and proportionate penalties and control regime. This will help streamline the Common Agricultural Policy by reducing overall administrative burden and be fairer for farmers.The European Commission has a requirement to review the Greening Ecological Focus Area requirements in 2016 and we expect work to commence in the autumn of this year. UK Ministers have asked the Agriculture Commissioner to extend his review to also cover the other elements of the Greening requirements, in particular the Crop Diversification requirement.   As part of this work, we continue to develop our underpinning evidence base.

Floods

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the six-year flood and coastal erosion investment programme on risk of loss of life from flooding.

Rory Stewart: Assessments of the impact of flood and coastal erosion defence investments on risk to life from flooding are made on an individual project basis. Defra has provided guidance on how this should be done based on factors, such as the vulnerability of the population; the depth and speed of onset of a flood; and the timeliness of flood warnings.

National Parks: Sales

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total value was of land owned by National Park authorities that was sold in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15; and what estimate she has made of the likely value of such land in each of the next five years.

Rory Stewart: National Park and the Broads Authorities are independent bodies operating within the local government framework. They are provided with powers to dispose of land under the 1972 Local Government Act and review their landholdings and liabilities from time to time as part of good financial management practice. The information requested is not held centrally by Her Majesty’s Government and the National Park and Broads Authorities have provided the following information on the value of land sales:   2010/11 £60,000 2011/12 £344,400 2012/13 £180,500 2013/14 £1,557,000* 2014/15 £45,700   No estimate of the likely value of such land in each of the next five years has been made. *includes the sale of Blencathra field study centre. The sale to the Field Studies Council enabled the Lake District NPA to re-invest part of the receipts in the development and opening of a new Northern Area Office in Threlkeld, from which all NPA activity in the northern part of the Park is now based. The remainder was re-invested in other projects across the National Park and the sale of the field study centre has provided the Field Studies Council, a registered charity, with an asset.

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much has been allocated for the payment of compensation in respect of species control agreements and orders under Schedule 9A, Part 5, Paragraph 25(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as amended by the Infrastructure Act 2015.

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what payments have been made under Schedule 9A, Part 5, Paragraph 25(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as amended by the Infrastructure Act 2015 to date.

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the threshold is for compensation payments under Schedule 9A, Part 5, Paragraph 25(2) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as amended by the Infrastructure Act 2015.

Rory Stewart: To date, no thresholds for these discretionary payments have been set and no funds have been allocated or paid. In accordance with paragraph 26 of Schedule 9A, guidance on such matters will be provided to environmental authorities through a code of practice. No species control orders are expected to be made until the code is produced.

Bovine Tuberculosis: South West

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to roll out the badger cull policy to other regions beyond the trial culls in Somerset and Gloucestershire.

George Eustice: As part of our measured approach to tackling bovine TB and achieving disease control benefits, Natural England has authorised badger culling in Dorset this year in addition to Somerset and Gloucestershire.

Countryside Stewardship Scheme

Wendy Morton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to publish the full terms and conditions of the (a) Countryside Stewardship: higher tier, (b) Countryside Stewardship: mid-tier, (c) Woodland Capital Grants 2015, (d) Facilitation Fund and (e) Water Capital Grants 2015, grant schemes.

George Eustice: The Countryside Stewardship Terms and Conditions covering Higher Tier and Mid-Tier were published on 23 July, and an updated version of the guidance covering scheme requirements and procedures was published on 3 September. Guidance on scheme requirements for Woodland Capital Grants 2015: Facilitation Fund and Water Capital Grants 2015 was published on GOV.UK when the schemes opened last March, and terms and conditions accompanied the agreement offers to successful applicants.

Bovine Tuberculosis: South West

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when her Department plans to start the next round of trial badger culls in (a) Somerset and (b) Gloucestershire.

George Eustice: Start dates are for cull companies to decide, not my Department. I can confirm that I have been notified that culling operations have started in both Gloucestershire and Somerset.

Carbon Emissions: Peat

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce carbon emissions from England's upland and lowland peatlands.

Rory Stewart: We recognise the significance of peat as a natural carbon store and are undertaking a series of measures to reduce carbon emissions from peatlands. These include: the pilot Peatland Code, negotiating the implementation of management objectives in designated areas for peatland restoration through agri-environment schemes, and targets for the reduction of peat use in horticulture. Between 2003 and 2013 the number of peatland Sites of Special Scientific Interest in “unfavourable but recovering” condition, increased from 16% to 85%, illustrating a major step forward in the restoration of degraded peat habitats.   The UK has chosen to report and account for the carbon emissions from wetland drainage and rewetting, including peatlands, as part of our international climate change commitments. To inform this reporting, Government is funding research on the carbon mitigation potential of improved peatland management. This will help to identify how resources might best be targeted to reduce carbon emissions from both upland and lowland peat soils.

Slaughterhouses: CCTV

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to implement the recommendations of the Farm Animal Welfare Committee opinion on the use of CCTV in slaughterhouses to assess the welfare of farmed animals, published on 3 February 2015.

George Eustice: I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given on 24 June 2015, PQs UIN 2944 and 2945.

Home Office

Firearms: Lancashire

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in each local authority district in Lancashire hold gun licences.

Mike Penning: The Home Office publishes data on the number of firearms licenses and shotgun certificates issued by police forces in England and Wales. As at 31 March 2014 there were 2,923 firearm certificates and 12,233 shotgun certificates on issue by Lancashire police force.

Firearms: Amnesties

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the date was of the most recent gun amnesty in each police force area in England; and how many firearms were handed-in in each such amnesty.

Mr John Hayes: Following the firearms surrenders in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands in 2013 and 2014, the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS) co-ordinated further such activities in the majority of the remaining force areas of England and Wales between 29 September and 21 November 2014. The only exception was Wiltshire where a firearms surrender is planned to take place later this year. The dates and numbers of weapons handed in are set out in the table below. Items surrendered include air weapons, stun guns, blank firers and CS sprays.Police Force Firearm Surrenders: Date of SurrenderForceTotal Number Firearms Surrendered29 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Avon & Somerset6429 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Bedfordshire6629 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Cambridgeshire14129 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Cheshire4629 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Cleveland3329 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Cumbria13129 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Derbyshire17229 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Devon & Cornwall44429 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Durham3429 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Dorset9329 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Essex12429 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Gloucestershire3812-27 July 2014Greater Manchester22529 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Hampshire10529 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Hertfordshire23429 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Humberside5329 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Kent8229 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Lancashire14021 Sept-7 Oct 2013Leicestershire13829 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Lincolnshire13229 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Merseyside10329 Sept to 21 Nov 2014MPS35529 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Norfolk50429 Sept to 21 Nov 2014North Yorkshire13829 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Northamptonshire19529 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Northumbria6710-21 November 2013Nottinghamshire23129 Sept to 21 Nov 2014South Yorkshire 5429 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Staffordshire20829 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Suffolk38229 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Surrey5029 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Sussex28229 Sept to 21 Nov 2014TVP22129 Sept to 21 Nov 2014West Mercia &48029 Sept to 21 Nov 2014Warwickshire19 July-2 August 2014West Midlands16329 Sept to 21 Nov 2014West Yorkshire89Anticipated late 2015Wiltshire0 TOTAL6017Source: National Ballistics Intelligence Service, 'Operation MAGPIE – Firearms Surrender Autumn/Winter 2014', published May 2015

Firearms: Licensing

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received from shooting sports organisations on the cost of obtaining shotgun and firearms certificates; and if she will take steps to ensure that the cost of obtaining such certificates does not rise at a rate above inflation.

Mike Penning: Representations were received from a range of stakeholders, including a number of shooting organisations, in response to the Government’s consultation on firearms fees in Great Britain, published in November 2014. The majority of respondents (73%) agreed with the proposals.In the response to the consultation published on 12 March the Government confirmed it would reconvene the Home Office Fees Working Group, which has representation from shooting organisations, to oversee the review of the fees on an annual basis. Government guidance on setting fees is clear that fees should be set to recover the full cost associated with providing the service to ensure that the government neither profits at the expense of consumers nor makes a loss for taxpayers to subsidise.

Human Trafficking

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) men, (b) women and (c) children came forward as potential victims of human trafficking in each year since 2012; how many such people (i) were returned to their country of origin and (ii) stayed on in the UK; how many of those who stayed in the UK were granted asylum; and what data is collected from each shelter administered by the Salvation Army scheme.

Karen Bradley: The table below sets out the number of potential victims of human trafficking who were referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) in each year since 2012, broken down by the age of the potential victim at the time of referral. AdultMinor  MaleFemaleTransgender MaleFemaleTotal2012258636014215011862013469901015422217462014615112422913082340It is not possible to accurately provide comprehensive information on the outcomes of those referred into the NRM. The Salvation Army provides the Home Office with information on the number of victims it has supported and the types of exploitation encountered. It also provides case specific information such as the NRM decision and victims’ country of origin.

Counter-terrorism: Dewsbury

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consultation her Department has carried out with community organisations in Dewsbury constituency on implementation of the Prevent strategy.

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding the Government is providing to (a) Kirklees Council and (b) West Yorkshire Police under the Prevent Strategy in (i) 2015-16 and (ii) each of the next three financial years.

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to increase support for projects under the Prevent strategy in Dewsbury constituency.

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what organisations and programmes based in Dewsbury constituency have received funding or support under the Prevent strategy in each of the last three years.

Mike Penning: It is critical that Local Authorities, the Police and statutory partners work together, in light of the Prevent Duty, to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. Community organisations have an important role to play in building resilience in their local areas.We do not provide a breakdown of Prevent funding for individual organisations as this would indicate the balance of where our resource is targeted and indicate where the greatest risk lies.

Police: Dewsbury

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to provide additional resources for policing in Dewsbury constituency.

Mike Penning: The allocation and deployment of resources are an operational matter for the West Yorkshire Chief Constable, working with his Police and Crime Commissioner, and taking into account local priorities.Funding levels for the police beyond March 2016 will be determined through the Spending Review. As the Chancellor has made clear, in order to finish the job of repairing Britain’s economy we must continue to prioritise sustainable public finances.The Government has committed to a fundamental review of the police funding formula to ensure that allocations to local forces are fair and appropriate. Following an internal analytical review, a consultation on the principles of a revised formula was launched on 21 July.

Asylum: Finance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish an impact assessment of the reduced standard rate of asylum cash support due to take effect from 10 August 2015; and if she will make an assessment of the effects of that reduction on (a) single parents and their children, (b) families with children and (c) other people seeking asylum.

James Brokenshire: Asylum seekers who are destitute are provided with accommodation and a cash allowance to cover their essential living needs. The level of the allowance is kept under regular review.The most recent review showed that the asylum support payments provided to larger household groups comfortably exceeded what is necessary to meet their essential living needs. In conducting the review, due regard was given the Public Sector Equality Duty and the assessment was that the reduced payments were still sufficient to meet those needs.The adequacy of the payment rates will be kept under review through the annual review cycle and in line with the statutory test to ensure that the right level of support is provided to asylum seekers and their families.

Seized Articles

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidelines her Department issues to police forces on requiring lists of goods seized from a company during an investigation to be produced within a specified timescale.

Mike Penning: The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, Code of Practice B, section 7 ‘Seizure of Property’, paragraph 16 is clear that, ‘if property is retained, the person who had custody or control of it immediately before seizure must, on request, be provided with a list of description of the property within a reasonable time’.

Asylum: Children

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people granted temporary asylum as children have been denied permanent asylum upon applying as an adult in each of the last 10 years.

James Brokenshire: When a child passes the age of 18 and their Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) leave expires, they are no longer considered to be a UASC and are therefore required to take steps to return voluntarily or seek further leave to remain. If the individual does not seek to regularise their stay through further applications or leave is not granted they may be removed in accordance with the Immigration Rules and published Home Office policy should they fail to leave voluntarily.The table below provides the number of individuals refused further leave in each of the last 10 years where they had been previously granted UASC leave.Year of Further Leave ApplicationNo of FL Refusals  20050  20066  200750  2008156  2009483  2010870  2011871  2012631  2013505  2014374

Cumbria Constabulary

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many full-time equivalent neighbourhood support officers have been employed by Cumbria Constabulary in each of the last 10 years.

Mike Penning: The table provided contains the number of full time equivalent (FTE) police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in Cumbria Police Force Area (PFA) who were predominantly employed in neighbourhood policing roles in each year from 2011 to 2015.Data for years before 2011 are not available on a comparable basis, due to changes in the way the force records these functions.As HMIC has made clear, there is no simple link between officer numbers and crime levels, between numbers and the visibility of police in the community, or between numbers and the quality of service provided.



FTE Police Officers & PCSOs
(Excel SpreadSheet, 25.5 KB)

Counter-terrorism: Finance

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a list of each organisation and individual in receipt of funding under the Prevent strategy.

Mr John Hayes: Prevent works in partnership with numerous organisations who are instrumental in preventing people being drawn into terrorism. Since 2011 we have supported over 180 community-based Prevent projects. Last year we supported over 70 community projects which worked with nearly 40,000 people. We do not provide or publish a breakdown of spend by organisations, as this may impact on our effectiveness to serve the best interests of the public.

Immigration: Biometrics

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with (a) the post office network and (b) educational establishments on the management of biometric residence permits at the start of the academic year 2015-16.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has worked with Post Office Limited and the education sector to review the proposed branch collection network ahead of the 2015-16 academic year. Particular concerns have been to identify ‘hotspots’, and to identify universities which are relatively remote from their nearest collection branch.The Home Office has offered the largest universities the option of having BRPs delivered to them, rather than requiring each student to attend a Post Office branch to collect in person. Universities operating this process must have appropriate security arrangements in place for bulk storage of BRPs and only use approved staff to perform the identity verification activity that would have been performed in branch by Post Office staff.The Home Office has also reviewed with the Post Office and the school sector the best approach for child students, who require a responsible adult to supervise their collection at the Post Office. As a result, we have introduced a Third Party Standing Authority process which allows named school staff to collect BRP on behalf of their students, significantly reducing the administrative burden on the school and removing the need to transport pupils to and from the Post Office branch.

Immigration: Biometrics

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria are used by her Department to select the post offices used for the issue of biometric residence permits.

James Brokenshire: The collection network was designed by Post Office Limited using anonymised, historical immigration data provided by the Home Office and the requirement that, on average, an applicant should not have to travel more than 30 miles to collect their BRP. In addition, the top 20 Post Office branches already used to enrol biometrics were excluded from the collection network to avoid adversely affecting the Post Office’s ability to collect biometrics and provide its other services during the early autumn.

Immigration: Biometrics

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which UK post offices are approved to issue biometric residence permits.

James Brokenshire: There are 199 Post Office branches approved to offer the BRP collection service throughout the UK. These include Crown, Main, Company and Independent Franchise Post Offices. The top 20 Post Office branches used to enrol biometrics are excluded from the Collection Network to avoid adversely affecting the Post Office’s ability to collect biometrics and provide its other services during the ‘student surge’ period. The complete list is:Aberdeen St NicholasAberystwythActonAlbany RoadAldwychAntrimArmleyAyrBaker StreetBangorBarkingBarnes GreenBarnstapleBarras BridgeBeaumont LeysBecktonBedminster ParadeBeestonBelfast CityBerrydenBoltonBrent ParkBrightonBroad Street MallBroadwayBulwellBury ParkBykerCambridge CityCanary WharfCanterburyCantonCarlisleCastle MallCatfordChathamChesserChiswickChurchill PlaceChurchill Way WestCity of BathCity Of ExeterClapham CommonColchesterCornwall StreetCorporation StreetCotham HillCoventryCowley CentreCrawleyDartfordDerby CityDingleDundeeDurhamEalingEast HamEdgbastonEdgwareEdgware RoadEdinburgh CityEnniskillenFarnboroughFarringdon RoadFerndale Road 250Five WaysFivewaysForest GateFort WilliamFrederick StreetFulhamGloucesterGortonGrays InnGreat GreenfordGreat Portland StreetGuildford TownHackneyHammersmithHarborneHarlowHarrowHatfieldHaverfordwestHayesHeadingleyHeadingtonHeathwayHigh Road HayesHigh WycombeHillsboroughHockwell RingHorfieldHoundsditchHounslowHullHulmeHuntingdonIlfordInvernessKensingtonKilburnKings CrossKingston Upon ThamesLancasterLeamington SpaLeece StreetLewishamLeytonstoneLiverpoolLondon RoadLondonderryLoughboroughLower EarleyMaida HillManchester Mount StreetMaryhillMaryleboneMerchant CityMiddlesbroughMilton KeynesNelsonNew StreetNewcastle Under LymeNewcastle Upon TyneNewland AvenueNewryNewtownNorfolk StreetNorth FinchleyNorthamptonNorthfieldNorthumberland AvenueNorwoodNottinghamOxfordOxford StreetPaddington QuayPartickPerthPeterborough CityPiccadilly PlazaPlaistowPontypridd (temporarily closed)PortsmouthPortswoodPrestonQueenswayRichmondRomfordSalford CitySauchiehall StreetScarboroughShawlandsSheffield CityShipleyShirley PrecinctSincil StreetSkettySloughSmall HeathSoho RoadSouthamptonSouthend-On-SeaSt AndrewsSt Andrews CrossSt PetersSt Peters StreetSt Stephens ParadeSt ThomasStirlingStratfordStreathamSunbridge RoadSunderland CitySuttonSwindonTauntonTerminus RoadThe City of LondonThe City Of SwanseaThe MarketsThe ShiresTooting TowerRampartsTruroUxbridgeWalthamstow CentralWarstone LaneWatfordWembleyWest CroydonWhitechapelWindsorWintonWolverhamptonWoolwichWrexham Town CentreYork

Human Trafficking: Temporary Accommodation

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total cost to the public purse was of administering shelters organised by the Salvation Army where potential trafficked victims have been placed; how much such funding goes to individual non-governmental organisations who ran such shelters in 2014; and how much of the overall Government grant for these shelters is spent by the Salvation Army on administration and running costs.

Karen Bradley: The Salvation Army and their 11 subcontractors provide support for potential victims of trafficking in England and Wales. The contract is jointly funded by the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice. The management of the contract was transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the Home Office in March 2014, so data is provided for the financial year 2014/15.In the financial year 2014/15, the total cost of the contract was £5,158,251, of which £235,440 was spent on administration and management of the contract. The remainder was spent by The Salvation army and their subcontractors on providing support to potential victims.

Radicalism

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to allow organisations and individuals to appeal against being placed on the Extremism Analysis Unit's blacklist.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with which non-governmental organisations and individuals her Department has liaised on setting up the Extremism Analysis Unit.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what she plans for the organisational structure of the Extremism Analysis Unit to be; how many staff she plans to be employed in that unit; and what estimate she has made of the total annual cost of running that unit.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what public consultation she is undertaking on the setting up of the Extremism Analysis Unit.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure parliamentary scrutiny of the work of the Extremism Analysis Unit.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, under what methodology and criteria the Extremism Analysis Unit will blacklist individuals and organisations.

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the remit of her Department's Extremism Analysis Unit.

Karen Bradley: The Extremism Analysis Unit (EAU) was established with a remit to analyse extremism in this country, and abroad where it has a direct impact on the UK and/or UK interests. The EAU is a cross-government resource, with government departments able to commission research and analysis.The EAU and Home Office officials engage widely with partners across government, academia and, communities.The Unit currently has 14 staff and is intended to grow by a further 10. This is met out of existing budget.The Home Secretary is accountable to Parliament for the work of the EAU. The EAU does not blacklist individuals or organisations.

Road Traffic Offences: Prosecutions

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has published on the timely notification by police services of notifications of intent to prosecute in incidents of motoring offences.

Mike Penning: Section 1 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act (1988) requires a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP), specifying the nature of the alleged offence and the time and place where it is alleged to have been committed, to be served within fourteen days of the commission of any alleged offence. The Home Office has not published any guidance on this issue.

Bail

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the maximum period of time is that a person can be held on pre-charge bail.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were held on pre-charge bail for (a) three to 12 months and (b) over 12 months in the last year.

Mike Penning: There is currently no maximum period of pre-charge bail. This Government feels that it cannot be right that people can spend months or even years on pre-charge bail with no oversight.That is why the Home Secretary announced on 23 March a package of measures to reduce both the number of individuals subject to, and the average duration of, pre-charge bail. As set out in the Gracious Speech, we will legislate in the Policing and Criminal Justice Bill to adopt those reforms. These measures will make pre-charge bail more effective and will bring greater accountability to the system.The Home Office does not hold the data requested. Estimated annual figures for the whole of England and Wales are set out on page 25 of the Government consultation response, published on 23 March and available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pre-charge-bail-consultation-on-statutory-time-limits-and-related-changes. Those figures are based on comparable data from twelve forces, scaled nationally on the basis of the number of arrests for notifiable offences per force.

Asylum: Finance

Stuart McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the explanatory note on the Asylum Support (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2015, on what basis it was concluded that those Regulations would have no impact on the voluntary sector.

James Brokenshire: Asylum seekers who are destitute are provided with accommodation and a cash allowance to cover their essential living needs. The level of the allowance is kept under regular review. The most recent review showed that the asylum support payments provided to larger household groups comfortably exceeded what is necessary to meet essential living needs. Despite the planned reduction in the rate, the payments are still sufficient to meet those needs. There should therefore be no impact on the voluntary sector.

Refugees: EU Action

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Conclusions of the European Council of 25 and 26 June 2015 paragraph 4(e), whether the UK is legally bound by the agreement to participate in resettling 20,000 displaced persons.

James Brokenshire: The European Commission proposal on resettlement is in the form of a Recommendation and is therefore not legally binding on Member States.Her Majesty's Government has been very clear that resettlement of refugees is a matter for national governments, not the EU. We will not participate in any EU proposals for mandatory resettlement. But we will continue to decide and run our own national schemes as part of our wider asylum and migration policy and the EU proposals on resettlement explicitly recognise this. We expect to resettle up to 2,200 refugees over the next two years under our existing national schemes.

Passports

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people reported (a) lost and (b) stolen passports to the Passport Office in 2014; and how many of those people were issued with a replacement.

James Brokenshire: In 2014 Her Majesty’s Passport Office was notified of 299,531 lost, stolen or “other” passports. The category "other" is used by Her Majesty’s Passport Office predominantly when a passport is declared damaged or destroyed. In 241,389 instances, the lost, stolen or other report was accompanied by an application for a replacement passport. A total of 58,142 applicants did not apply for passports immediately at the time of the reported loss. It is not possible to provide a figure for the number of people that applied for a replacement passport after notifying Her Majesty’s Passport Office about the loss of or damage to their passport.Report TypeReplacement Passport Applications at time of notificationNotification of loss but no replacement requestedTotalLost235,88342,186278,069Stolen4,09614,71518, 811Other1,4101,2412,651Total241,38958,142299,531

Offences against Children

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what amount of resource has been available to the police to (a) protect children from sexual abuse, (b) carry out investigations in relation to (i) current and (ii) historic child sexual abuse cases in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: Resourcing is an operational matter for chief officers. We have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat which will help to ensure that police forces and Police and Crime Commissioners have in place the capabilities they need to protect children from sexual abuse.In 2015/16 the Home Office provided an additional £10 million to the National Crime Agency for the creation of more specialist teams to tackle online child sexual exploitation. We have also made available £1.7 million to fund Operation Hydrant, which coordinates the handling of multiple non-recent child sexual abuse investigations specifically concerning institutions or persons of public prominence, and £1.5 million to support regional coordinators and analysts to oversee the implementation of the National Policing Plan for tackling Child Sexual Exploitation.Additionally, the Home Office and Ministry of Justice announced an additional £7 million for victims services supporting survivors of sexual violence in 2014/15 and 2015/16.

Racial Harassment: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much was paid out in compensation (a) in total and (b) per case to victims of racial abuse by police officers in London in each year since 2010.

Mike Penning: This information is not held centrally by the Home Office and may be held by the force itself.

Community Relations: Dudley

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will meet the hon. Member for Dudley South and a delegation of civic, faith and business leaders from Dudley to discuss the effect that demonstrations by far-right organisations are having on community life and trade in that town.

Mike Penning: Protestors’ rights need to be balanced with the rights of others to go about their business without fear of intimidation or serious disruption to the community.As set out in the Public Order Act 1986, the police have a range of powers to manage the impact of demonstrations, including the ability to impose conditions on assemblies and public processions to prevent serious public disorder, serious damage to property, or serious disruption to the life of the community.

Immigration Controls

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of applications for permanent leave to remain from people who have had discretionary leave to remain status (a) in each age group and (b) with each level of educational qualification for at least 10 years.

James Brokenshire: Since 2005 the proportion of applications that have been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain who have previously had Discretionary Leave status broken down by age group is as follows: Age 0 to 6 - 520 Age 7 to 18 – 3,160 Age 19 to 30 – 15,300 Age 31 to 40 – 16,340 Age 41 to 50 – 8,640 Age 51 to 60 – 2,815 Age 61 and over – 1,865The Home Office does not hold data to show the proportion of applications that have Indefinite Leave to Remain who have also had Discretionary Leave status, based on their educational qualifications.

Counter-terrorism: Turkey

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK counter-terrorism police staff are based in Turkey.

Mr John Hayes: For national security reasons we do not disclose the detailed allocation of police counter-terrorism capabilities or resource.

Asylum: Syria

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Syrian refugees granted asylum in the UK were studying in the UK at the time their asylum application was made in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire: We are unable to provide the information requested as to produce an accurate number would require a manual review of records matched between different Home Office data systems, which would only be achievable at a disproportionate cost.The UK has a proud tradition of providing protection to those who need it most. Between 2011 and March this year, we granted asylum or other forms of leave to over 4,200 Syrian nationals and dependants.

Entry Clearances

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for Refugee Family Reunion (under Part 11 Immigration Rules) have resulted in the granting of entry clearance to children under 18 and the refusal of entry clearance to female children over 18 from the same family (a) in total and (b) for families originating from (i) Syria, (ii) Afghanistan and (iii) Iran in the last two years for which records exist.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office is able to provide some of the information requested, but is unable to provide information on which applications are from members of the same family, as to obtain this would incur disproportionate cost.The numbers of family reunion visas issued & refused in total and broken down by age group, gender and the specific nationalities requested is set out in the table below.



Numer of family reunion visa issued & refused
(Word Document, 13.83 KB)

Overseas Students: Scotland

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has any plans to reintroduce tier 1 post-study work visas for students completing their studies at Scottish universities.

James Brokenshire: Her Majesty's Government closed Tier 1 (Post-Study Work) in April 2012 and has no plans to reintroduce the route for any international graduates, including those who have studied at Scottish universities.We closed the Tier 1 (Post Study Work) route because too many individuals in the route were unemployed or in low-skilled work, and too many were using the student route merely as a means to work in the UK, without any intention of study, which does not help hard-working people or our educational institutions.

Migrant Workers: Visas

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has any plans to open the tier 3 category of visas to new applicants.

James Brokenshire: Her Majesty's Government has no plans to open Tier 3 of the Points Based System.

British Nationals Abroad: Syria

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of UK nationals who have crossed into Syria from the Turkish border and have since returned to the UK in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: Figures on how many UK nationals have crossed into Syria from the Turkish border and returned to the UK in the last 12 months are not available.However, we are aware of around 700 people from the UK who are of concern to the Police and Security Services and who are thought to have travelled to the region since the start of the conflict. We estimate that around half of those have returned.

British Nationals Abroad: Syria

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations she has made to her Turkish counterpart on developing a joint strategy to prevent UK nationals crossing over the border with Turkey into Syria.

Karen Bradley: The Home Secretary and Home Office officials frequently meet with international partners, including Turkey, to discuss issues related to counter-terrorism. Turkey is a key partner in the fight against terrorism and we work closely with them to prevent UK nationals travelling to Syria for the purposes of terrorism. Discussions with Turkish counterparts have focused on cooperation on border security, law enforcement and stopping the travel of British nationals into Syria.

CCTV: Codes of Practice

Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions (a) she, (b) other Ministers in her Department and (c) officials in her Department have had with the Surveillance Camera Commissioner about compliance to Principle 1 of the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice 2013 by local authorities in England and Wales.

Mike Penning: My officials are in regular discussions with the Surveillance Camera Commissioner and his team, and those discussions cover a range of issues in relation to the regulation of overt CCTV and other surveillance camera systems in public places. We are aware that he has recently written to all local authorities reminding them of their obligations under the code and requested that they complete and publish the self-assessment tool, that covers all the principles.The Commissioner will be presenting his Annual Report to the Home Secretary in the near future, and I anticipate that this will include commentary on the surveillance camera use by local authorities and other relevant authorities under S33(5) of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. That report is intended to provide the Government, Parliament and the public an opportunity to reflect on the regulation of surveillance.

HM Treasury

Individual Savings Accounts

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will establish a tax-free savings vehicle specifically designed to save for funerals.

Mr David Gauke: The Government has introduced a range of measures to support savers, including increasing the ISA limit to £15,240, and making ISAs simpler by allowing that money to be held in a cash ISA, a stocks and shares ISA, or split in any combination between the two. The ISA allows individuals to save for a wide variety of purposes, including funeral payments.

Self-employed

Peter Kyle: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of self-employed people to achieving the objectives set out in his Department's document, Fixing the Foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation, published in July 2015.

Mr David Gauke: Self-employment makes a vital contribution to the economy, with over 4.5 million people currently self-employed, accounting for 14.5% of total employment. The government wants to raise productivity across all sectors and believes that self-employment can make an important contribution to achieving the objectives set out in Fixing the foundations. The government has asked Julie Deane OBE to carry out an independent review, reporting in early 2016, of the contribution the self-employed make to the UK economy and consider how they can be better supported.

Food: Taxation

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the taxation of high sugar and high salt food and drinks.

Damian Hinds: At present the Government has no plans to introduce new taxes on food and drinks.

Financial Services: ICT

Adam Afriyie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support his Department is providing to promote the growth of the FinTech industry.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government is committed to making the UK the leading global FinTech hub, and has announced a large number of policy initiatives, including more supportive regulatory regimes for peer-to-peer, digital currencies, and other innovative firms.   The Government built on this record at the Summer Budget. First, Eileen Burbidge was appointed as the UK’s ‘Special Envoy for FinTech’, where she will represent UK interests in FinTech at home and around the world. Second, an international FinTech benchmarking exercise was announced to measure the UK’s performance and identify areas of best practice from around the world.

Financial Institutions

Phil Boswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support the Government is providing to (a) mutual savings banks and (b) credit unions in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill constituency.

Harriett Baldwin: At the Summer Budget the government announced that savings banks established under the Savings Bank (Scotland) Act 1819 will benefit from the same £25m carried-forward loss allowance for Corporation Tax as the building society sector. This will be backdated to 1 April 2015 and actioned through the Finance Bill 2015.   The Coalition Government took significant steps to support the credit union movement in Great Britain. These included increasing the maximum interest rate that credit unions can charge on loans from 2% to 3% per month; investing £38m in the sector through the Department of Work and Pensions’ Credit Union Expansion Project and launching a Call for Evidence which allowed all credit unions, regardless of size or influence, the opportunity to contribute their vision for the future of the sector to the wider debate. The Government is committed to continuing to support the credit union movement in making financial services more accessible.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2015 to Question 6981, whether agricultural vehicles used for journeys of more than 1.5 kilometres on public roads will be exempt from paying Vehicle Excise Duty.

Damian Hinds: The Vehicle Excise Duty exemption for agricultural vehicles applies to vehicles used on public roads for journeys of up to 1.5 kilometres. The reforms to Vehicle Excise Duty announced at the Summer Budget will apply to cars first registered on or after 1 April 2017 and will not include any changes to the exemption for agricultural vehicles

Personal Income

Chris Leslie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish a distributional analysis of the effect of the measures announced in the Summer Budget 2015 on people in each income group decile.

Mr David Gauke: Distributional analysis of the impact of government policy across the household income distribution was published alongside the Summer Budget, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443229/PU1822_Distributional_Analysis.pdf

Personal Income

Chris Leslie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish a distributional analysis of the effect of the Summer Budget 2015 for (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17.

Mr David Gauke: Distributional analysis of the impact of government policy across the household income distribution was published alongside the Summer Budget, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/443229/PU1822_Distributional_Analysis.pdf

Public Sector: Land

Barry Gardiner: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.29 of his Department's document, A country that lives within its means: Spending Review 2015, published in July 2015, what proportion of the total amount of public sector land to be disposed he expects to be contributed by each department.

Greg Hands: The government has committed to dispose of public sector land with capacity for 150,000 homes by 2020. Meeting this goal is vital for securing the government’s high ambitions to support housing supply and affordability, while prioritising the use of brownfield land.   As part of the Spending Review process HM Treasury will be working with departments on their contributions to the overall target.

Carers: Child Tax Credit

Tulip Siddiq: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of main carers of each gender in each region and constituent part of the UK who receive child tax credit.

Damian Hinds: The information requested is not available.

Excise Duties

Frank Field: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on duty exemption for small-scale producers; and what he took of EU directives when forming that policy.

Damian Hinds: As announced at Summer Budget 2015, the government will retain the current duty exemption for small cider producers until and unless a replacement scheme is established. Small cider makers are a traditional part of rural economies who help create a diverse and vibrant cider market and the government is committed to maintaining support for the industry.   The UK is discussing reforms to EU law with the EU Commission and other Member States, so that it explicitly allows member states to support small cider makers through the duty regime. The government is also looking at alternatives that could apply. The government will work with industry on both of these.

Royal Mint

Clive Lewis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether officials in his Department has worked on assessing the feasibility of privatising the Royal Mint.

Clive Lewis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his policy to retain full public ownership of the Royal Mint; and if he will make a statement.

Clive Lewis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the value of the (a) Royal Mint, (b) Land Registry, (c) Ordnance Survey, (d) Met Office and (e) National Air Traffic Services.

Damian Hinds: The Government is committed to ensuring the effective and efficient management of publicly owned assets and keeping ownership of all assets under review. Where there is no longer a strong policy reason for continued public ownership or where there is potential for an asset to operate more sensibly and efficiently in the private sector, the Government will continue to look into the potential sale of public sector assets.   The net asset value of the government’s holdings for bodies in which it holds a stake is estimated in the annual report of the parent department or within the accounts of the organisation (depending on the precise ownership and structure).

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Tim Loughton: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons he proposes to reduce the upper limit of compensation payments for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Harriett Baldwin: The Deposit Guarantee Scheme Directive (DGSD) is a single market measure to ensure that depositors are entitled to the same level of protection wherever they deposit their money, and that UK firms are not competitively disadvantaged in relation to firms in other EEA jurisdictions.   As a result of the current strength of the pound in relation to the euro, it has been necessary for the Prudential Regulation Authority to review the sterling coverage limit. However, the Government has taken action to ensure that UK depositors are not exposed to a sudden reduction in the level of protection they receive. HM Treasury has laid a statutory instrument to ensure that depositors who are currently entitled to £85,000 of protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme will continue to be until 31 December 2015.   This will ensure that there is sufficient time available for depositors to be made aware of the changes, and to take such steps as they feel necessary to manage their financial affairs appropriately in light of this change. More than 95% of UK retail depositors are expected to remain unaffected by the change to the coverage limit.

Care Homes: Finance

Tim Loughton: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial measures he has introduced to help residential care homes for elderly people run by charities since 2010.

Mr David Gauke: The Chancellor has not introduced any financial measures which are specifically targeted towards residential care homes for elderly people run by charities. However a range of measures have been introduced by the Government to support the social care sector and charities.   Central Government provides funding to local authorities to purchase care for the needs of their population from local providers. In addition to this funding, important steps have been taken to improve the care and support landscape within which residential care homes operate. The first phase of the care and support reforms enshrined in the Care Act 2014 came into force in April this year, introducing the biggest reforms to care and support in over 65 years. For the first time ever, we have a single, modern legal framework for care and support that places the person and their health and wellbeing at its heart. There are now national minimum eligibility criteria for care and support across England. Carers now have the right to support to meet their needs, and deferred payment agreements are available across England ensuring that people should not be forced to sell their home in order to pay for their care in their lifetime.   The government recognises the vital role of charities and their important position in local communities. This is why, for example, the government also provides support for charities through tax reliefs, of which Gift Aid makes up over £1 billion. Total tax reliefs to charities and their donors were worth over £4.5 billion last year.

Care Homes: Corporation Tax

Tim Loughton: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many residential care homes for elderly people are exempt from corporation tax.

Mr David Gauke: There are no specific corporation tax exemptions for residential care homes for elderly people. However, residential care homes may claim an exemption from corporation tax when they are recognised as a charity for tax purposes by HM Revenue and Customs.

Social Rented Housing: Landlords

Louise Haigh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Summer Budget 2015, what advice his Department received from the Office of Budget Responsibility on the fiscal effect of policy changes to the classification of Registered Social Landlords.

Greg Hands: HM Treasury officials routinely engage with the Office of Budget Responsibility on a range of issues. It is for the independent Office for National Statistics to determine the classification of economic activity for National Accounts purposes.

Information Commissioner: Pay

Paul Flynn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what the fines imposed on the Information Commissioner's Office for excessive pay rises will be spent.

Greg Hands: The financial penalty imposed on the Information Commissioner’s Office will be retained in the UK Consolidated Fund. This is the central account which receives government revenues and ensures that the government can distribute the funds appropriately to support its priorities.

European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism

Mr David Nuttall: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what legal rights the UK has to reclaim potential losses brought about by the use of the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism to bail out Eurozone states.

Harriett Baldwin: The European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM) loan to Greece, agreed on 17 July, includes legally binding arrangements to ensure that the UK would incur no costs in the case of a default by Greece. In advance of disbursement, a legally binding agreement (a “Settlement and Payment Agreement”) was signed, which grants the UK and all non-euro area Member States immediate access to collateral, equivalent to their full potential liability, in the event that Greece fails to repay the EFSM loan. The €1.96 billion of collateral is in a ring-fenced account at the European Central Bank.   Subsequently, the Government secured an amendment to the EFSM regulation to ensure that similar legally binding full guarantee arrangements will be in place for any future use of the EFSM for the purpose of securing the financial stability of a member of the single currency.

UK Financial Investments: Shareholder Executive

Clive Lewis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the statement in his speech to the Confederation of British Industry on 20 May 2015 that the Government plans to merge UK Financial Investments and the Shareholder Executive into one organisation; what his proposed timetable is for that merger.

Harriett Baldwin: UK Government Investments will be established in the autumn, with an intention to complete any transfer activity for the start of the next financial year.

Climate Change Levy

Margaret Greenwood: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the Government will commission an analysis of the potential effect on the UK renewable electricity generation companies of its proposed removal of the Climate Change Levy exemption for renewable power.

Damian Hinds: Removing the CCL renewables exemption will not increase wholesale electricity prices, and the energy market for businesses and public sector organisations is very competitive.   Removing the CCL renewables exemption means the CCL will continue to add 5%-7% to public sector energy bills, which is consistent with estimates published by DECC. This provides a price signal to incentivise much needed energy efficiency improvements.

Climate Change Levy

Margaret Greenwood: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the Government will commission a detailed analysis  of the potential effect on the electricity bills of public sector consumers on the proposed removal of the Climate Change Levy exemption.

Harriett Baldwin: This Government takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously. We are committed to meeting our climate change commitments as cost effectively as possible. We are currently making good progress with emissions down 30% since 1990.  Any loss that UK renewable generators face as a result of the Climate Change Levy (CCL) will be small compared to the total amount of support they receive from other Government policies.   The renewable electricity generation sector will also benefit from the Government’s recent cuts to corporation tax, which will save businesses over £10bn a year.

Welfare Tax Credits

Rushanara Ali: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of recent changes to tax and tax credits on the income of women who choose to stay at home to care for children.

Damian Hinds: The Government recognises the commitment and value of parents who choose to stay at home to look after their children, and the difficulties they might face. The Government has introduced the Marriage Allowance which will benefit married parents who do not use their full personal allowance; it has made reforms to the state pension which will improve pension provision for those who choose not to work due to caring responsibilities; and introduced a new package of childcare support to help parents balance work and family life.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Wind Power: Subsidies

Mr Nick Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the removal of onshore windfarm subsidy on business growth in the wind energy sector over the next five years.

Andrea Leadsom: As part of the Parliamentary process, the Department will shortly publish an Impact Assessment that considers the potential effects of its proposals for closing the Renewables Obligation to onshore wind. This will be made available on the Department’s website.

UN Climate Change Conference

Mr Nick Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what measures she is taking ahead of the COP21 UN Climate Change Summit to ensure successful outcomes.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government is committed to securing an ambitious legally binding, global Agreement on climate change at the Conference of the Parties (COP) 21 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris in December this year.My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, are actively engaging with their international counterparts ahead of negotiations in Paris. In June, the Prime Minister joined other G7 leaders in calling for an ambitious climate package to be agreed in Paris, strong language on future ambition and commitment to a long term decarbonisation. The Secretary of State is also engaging with her EU and international counterparts, NGOs and businesses to discuss how we can best deliver on our priorities for a Paris Agreement which includes emission reduction commitments from all countries and a regular review of mitigation ambition alongside a global long term goal, and a set of rules that ensure transparency and accountability of commitments to enable the world to track progress.

Solar Power: British Gas

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will take steps to ensure that British Gas increases the transparency and efficacy of the process for registering solar panels.

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will take steps to ensure that developers are required to register solar panels with British Gas before they sell their properties.

Andrea Leadsom: The Feed-in Tariff (FITs) scheme pays consumers for small-scale generation of their own electricity through renewable sources, such as solar panels. Major energy companies, like British Gas, as well as some smaller independent suppliers, process applications and make Feed-in Tariff payments, in their role as FIT Licensees, for sub 50kW solar PV and wind installations.However, final confirmation of an installation’s eligibility for FITs is carried out by Ofgem, not by British Gas, before it is entered on the Central FITs Register (CFR). Solar PV products and installers are certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).Additionally, the Renewable Energy Consumer Code and Home Insulation and Energy Systems Contractors Scheme, approved under the Chartered Trading Standards Institute consumer code approval scheme, provide protection for consumers participating in Government incentive schemes, such as Feed-in Tariffs.

Energy

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress she has made on reducing the time taken for homeowners to switch energy and gas supplier; and what forecast she has made of the effect on switching times of the completion of the smart metering implementation programme.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department has worked with Energy UK, Ofgem, suppliers and other key industry partners to develop and implement proposals which have enabled domestic customers to switch supplier within 17 days, half the time it previously took.The roll-out of smart metering will make switching energy supplier easier and faster and is a key enabler to 24-hour switching. The Government announced in the Summer Budget 2015 that it will work with Ofgem with the ambition of introducing 24-hour switching by the end of 2018.

Climate Change

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make it her policy to obtain binding commitments from her international counterparts at forthcoming global talks on climate change.

Andrea Leadsom: The UK Government is committed to securing at the Conference of the Parties (COP) 21 in Paris, an ambitious, legally binding global Agreement on climate change with mitigation commitments from all Parties and a set of rules that ensure transparency and accountability of commitments that will allow the world to track progress.My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, is working closely with her international counterparts to pave the way for an ambitious deal. In June, the Prime Minister joined other G7 leaders in calling for an ambitious climate package to be agreed in Paris. But there remains a lot of work to do. My Ministerial colleagues and I will take every opportunity to press for an agreement that meets these objectives.

Renewable Energy

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the potential economic benefits of investment in renewable energy resources in the next 10 years.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department of Energy and Climate Change published Delivering UK Investment: Low Carbon Energy in March 2015 which estimates investment in renewable electricity generation capacity between 2015 and 2020 of up to £45bn. We estimate that the low carbon sector has the potential to support up to 250,000 jobs by 2020, of which 200,000 would be in renewables. [1][1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419024/DECC_LowCarbonEnergyReport.pdf

Peat Bogs: Carbon Emissions

Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of carbon emissions from England's upland and lowland peatlands.

Andrea Leadsom: The Governments annual publication of the UK’s greenhouse gas inventory (ref) reports that emissions from management and use of lowland and horticultural soils such as peat was 2.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide [1]. This contributes less than 1% to the estimated 359 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted in England in 20131. We do not currently estimate emissions from upland peat due to a lack of suitable input data.In 2014 DECC commissioned the Natural Environment Research Council’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology to propose approaches for the incorporation of emissions from wetland rewetting and drainage from both lowland and upland peatlands in the greenhouse gas emissions inventory. They will report their recommendations by 2017, which will improve our understanding of emissions in this sector. [1] Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: 1990-2013, Salisbury, G. Thistlethwaite, K. Young, L. Cardenas, A. Thomson., Ricardo-AEA/R/3452, (2015). http://naei.defra.gov.uk/reports/reports?report_id=810

Fossil Fuels

Mr Nick Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she plans to take to ensure the UK stays on course to meet its targets to reduce the use of coal and other fossil fuels.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government has put in place reforms designed to deliver a secure transition to an affordable, low-carbon electricity system.Our projections show that, based on current policies, we expect to see around a 50% reduction in total electricity generation from fossil fuels by 2030 compared to 2014*.*Source: DECC 2014 Updated Annual Energy & Emissions Projections, Annex J https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-energy-and-emissions-projections-2014

Renewable Energy

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of the UK's electricity was derived from renewable sources in the last year for which figures are available.

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of the electricity produced in the UK derives from each principal method of electricity production.

Andrea Leadsom: The table below shows electricity supplied in the UK by fuel type for the calendar year 2014. UK electricity generation by fuel type 2014  TWh% share Coal100.729.7Oil1.90.6Gas100.929.8Nuclear63.718.8Hydro (natural flow)5.91.7Wind and Solar36.110.6- of which, Offshore13.44.0Bioenergy23.26.9Pumped Storage2.90.9Other fuels3.61.1Total338.9 100  Renewables are made up of hydro (natural flow), wind and solar (which includes wave tidal) and bioenergy. This makes up 65.2 TWh (a 19.2% share) of total generation.Source: Energy Trends, table 5.1. Available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electricity-section-5-energy-trends.

Renewable Energy

David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of the UK's energy was derived from renewable sources in the last year for which figures are available.

Andrea Leadsom: In 2014, under the Renewable Energy Directive measure, 7.0 per cent of the UK’s gross final energy consumption was derived from renewables. Source: Table DUKES 6.7, Digest of UK Energy Statistics, 2015, available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/renewable-sources-of-energy-chapter-6-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes

Nuclear Power Stations: Cumbria

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect of recent reports stating that Toshiba has overstated its profits on that company being involved in building a new nuclear complex in West Cumbria.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government is aware of the recent reports about Toshiba misstating its profits in Japan. Toshiba’s accounting procedures are a matter for the Japanese financial regulator.

Natural Gas: Lancashire

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with Lancashire Council, Wyre Council, environmental groups and local residents' associations prior to the decision being taken to overrule the rejection of a planning application for gas storage made by Halite Energy in Preesall, Lancashire.

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with her colleagues in the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs prior to the decision being taken to overrule the rejection of a planning application for gas storage made by Halite Energy in Preesall, Lancashire.

Andrea Leadsom: None. The Preesall Underground Gas Storage Facility development consent order application was redetermined by way of a written representation procedure pursuant to Rule 20(2) of the Infrastructure Planning (Examination Procedure) Rules 2010. All representations received under the 2010 Rules or otherwise were taken into account in the decision to grant development consent.

Wind Power: Subsidies

Dr Phillip Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the proposed closure of the Renewables Obligation to onshore wind on the cost of capital for (a) onshore wind projects and (b) wider renewables investment.

Andrea Leadsom: As part of the parliamentary process, the Department will shortly publish an Impact Assessment that considers the potential effects of its proposals for closing the Renewables Obligation to onshore wind. This will be made available on the Department’s website.

Energy: Prices

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the implications are for her Department's policy of the findings relating to the overcharging of customers set out in the summary report of the investigation being undertaken by the Competition and Markets Authority into the energy market in Great Britain published on 7 July 2015.

Andrea Leadsom: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published the Provisional Findings from their investigation into the energy markets in July alongside a notice of possible remedies to address the issues identified; their final report is not expected until December 2015. This Government is committed to implementing the recommendations the CMA will set out in their Final Report, but in the meantime we will continue our focus on keeping bills down through promoting competition, making switching quicker and easier, and providing direct help to the most vulnerable.

Cabinet Office

Freedom of Information: Commercial Secrets

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Written Statement of 20 June 2015, HCWS153, on Freedom of Information, whether the terms of reference of the Commission on Freedom of Information will permit it to consider the appropriate scope of the commercial confidentiality exemption under section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Written Statement of 20 June 2015, HCWS153, on Freedom of Information, whether the Commission on Freedom of Information's terms of reference will permit it to consider the effective application of the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to private companies that are providing under contract any service whose provision is the function of a public authority under section 5(1)(b) of that Act.

Matthew Hancock: It will be for the independent FOI commission to determine the interpretation of its terms of reference.

Respiratory System: Diseases

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the numbers of (a) male and (b) female deaths caused by respiratory diseases in each of the last 10 years.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UK Statistics Reply 
(PDF Document, 71.31 KB)

Freedom of Information

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Written Statement of 20 June 2015, HCWS153, on Freedom of Information, whether the Freedom of Information Commission is a public authority subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Written Statement of 20 June 2015, HCWS153, on Freedom of Information, what plans he has to issue an order under section 4 or 5 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to the Freedom of Information Commission.

Matthew Hancock: As with other temporary review bodies, the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information is not subject to FOIA.

Government Departments: Procurement

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what value of procurement contracts central Government Departments hold with suppliers in each (a) region and (b) parliamentary constituency.

Matthew Hancock: Information on Government suppliers within a specific constituency or region is not held centrally.

Climate Change

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many full-time equivalent staff in all Government departments and agencies in total were working on climate change adaptation in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15; and if he will estimate the likely number of such staff in each of the next five years.

Matthew Hancock: The information requested is not held centrally.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

BBC: EU Grants and Loans

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding the BBC has received from the EU in the last five years; and what conditions were attached to the use of such funding.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Department does not hold this information. Under government accounting guidelines organisations are required to publish all income received, however they are not required to publish individual grants unless they are significant for their own accounts. Under the terms of the Royal Charter and Agreement, the BBC is able to seek alternative sources of funding, within a strict framework which is set and administered by the BBC Trust.

Gaming Machines: Sheffield Heeley

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of fixed-odds betting terminals in Sheffield, Heeley constituency.

Tracey Crouch: A betting premises licence issued under the Gambling Act 2005 authorises its holder to make up to 4 gaming machines available for use. This entitlement is limited to gaming machines terminals which fall within sub-categories B2 (what we commonly think of when we refer to FOBTs), B3 and B4, and categories C and D.  The department doesn’t collect information on gaming machine numbers in individual constituencies, however industry data shows that the constituency of Sheffield Heeley has 49 terminals to date.

Gaming Machines

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the player protection measures on fixed-odds betting terminals introduced in April 2015.

Tracey Crouch: In April 2014 the previous Government announced action which included £50 staking measures on B2 gaming machines in bookmakers which came into force in April 2015.The Government is monitoring the impact of the measures but it is too early to draw any definitive conclusions.

Radio Frequencies: Auctions

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government plans to announce a spectrum auction by 2020.

Mr Edward Vaizey: UK spectrum auctions are managed by Ofcom. Ofcom expects to auction up to 190 MHz of spectrum at 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz in this financial year (2015/16). No decision has yet been taken by Ofcom as to whether an auction will be used to assign future spectrum released from public sector use or freed up by the clearance of the 700 MHz band, or the timing of any such auction.

Radio Frequencies

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the increase in the amount of radio spectrum which will be made available to the private sector by 2020.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The current target is to release 500 MHz of spectrum below 5 GHz by 2020, of which 62 MHz has already been released. Ofcom expects to auction up to 190 MHz of additional spectrum at 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz in this financial year (2015/16).The Productivity Plan published on 10 July announced that the Government had implemented a new model for the centralised management of public sector spectrum. Under this model a new Central Management Unit based in the Shareholder Executive will propose a new target for public sector spectrum release to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, along with a plan and timetable for achieving it. Terms of reference outlining how this new model works will be published on gov.uk in due course.

Water Sports: Public Participation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who participate in watersports.

Tracey Crouch: According to Sport England’s Active People Survey, 673,900 people regularly take part in watersports in England.

Water Sports: Young People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more young people to participate in watersports.

Tracey Crouch: Between 2013 and 2017 Sport England is investing over £31 million in the national governing bodies of recognised watersports to get more adults active on the water in England. In addition, Sport England has invested over £15 million in local watersports facilities and projects since 2010.

Cultural Heritage: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on support for Ulster-Scots (a) language, (b) culture and (c) history.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Secretary of State has had no recent discussions on the Northern Ireland Executive on these matters.

National Gallery: Security

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what conversations his Department has had with National Gallery (a) staff, (b) management and (c) other relevant stakeholders on the National Gallery's decision to privatise its security service.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The National Gallery operates at Arm's length from DCMS, and as such has responsibility for its own staffing arrangements.  (a) The Department has corresponded with the PCS union, which represents staff at the National Gallery, on a number of occasions. No direct conversations with staff members have taken place.  (b) The Department is in regular contact with the National Gallery, and was notified of the decision to outsource services before the process began. Staffing arrangements are a matter for the National Gallery. Further conversations have taken place where necessary for informative purposes only.  (c) The Department has responded to correspondence from the public and MPs, but has not had conversations with any other stakeholders.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to reply to the letter to him dated 4 June 2015 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Nikita Standekwick.

Mr Edward Vaizey: A reply has been sent.

Tourism: Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to increase tourism and tourism-related jobs in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney.

Tracey Crouch: The Government's five point plan for tourism published on 17 July made clear our commitment to increase tourism throughout the UK's nations and regions. You can see the plan at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/446167/Tourism_-_A_Five_Point_Plan.pdf Tourism is a devolved matter, but VisitBritain and VisitEngland work in partnership with VisitWales and VisitScotland, primarily through the GREAT campaign, to promote British holidays to overseas and domestic tourists.  2014 was a record breaking year for tourism in Wales, with overnight visits to Wales by GB residents reaching 10 million, with spend of £1.7 billion. I am looking forward to having regular and constructive conversations with my Welsh counterpart.

Museums and Galleries: Greater London

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to support museums in making exhibitions at national museums based in London accessible to school children in remote constituencies.

Mr Edward Vaizey: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 07 September 2015.The correct answer should have been:

National Museums based in London frequently tour exhibitions to other venues in the UK or loan objects to regional museums enabling access by children in remote constituencies. The Natural History Museum's Wildlife Photography of the Year exhibition has for example been to ten UK venues including Cumbria's Rheged Centre.The Department of Education announced further funding in January of £1.2m to continue supporting National Museums working with regional museums to enable an increase in visits by schools in regions where take-up by schools has traditionally been low.

Mr Edward Vaizey: National Museums based in London frequently tour exhibitions to other venues in the UK or loan objects to regional museums enabling access by children in remote constituencies. The Natural History Museum's Wildlife Photography of the Year exhibition has for example been to ten UK venues including Cumbria's Rheged Centre.The Department of Education announced further funding in January of £1.2m to continue supporting National Museums working with regional museums to enable an increase in visits by schools in regions where take-up by schools has traditionally been low.

House of Commons Commission

Parliament: Hearing Aids

Mr David Winnick: To ask the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2015 to Question 2662, if he will extend the provision of the induction loop system to ensure people who have hearing loss or who are deaf can follow proceedings in all meeting rooms using a personal loop inducted into that system.

Tom Brake: Following the hon. Member’s questions of 15 and 22 June, officials in the Department of Facilities have worked with the House of Commons audio-visual (AV) contractor to establish the costs and viability of extending the existing infra-red loop system to those meeting rooms on the Estate that do not currently have this facility. The work to install this facility in an additional twenty-one rooms across the Estate is planned to take place during the Conference Recess and be in place when the House returns in October.An additional twenty-one rooms will be fitted with the infra-red loop system at a cost of approximately £31k. The rooms concerned are:Portcullis House : Rooms M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T and UNorman Shaw North: Ground Floor Interview RoomParliament St: Rooms A,B,C and DMillbank House: Archbishop’s Room7 Millbank: Conference Room E and Room 11The Palace of Westminster: Conference Room HTothill St: Rooms G01, G02 and G03

Palace of Westminster

Deidre  Brock: To ask the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, whether options other than remaining in the Palace of Westminster have been considered for the long-term future of the House.

Tom Brake: An option to move Parliament out of the Palace of Westminster to a new purpose-built building was included in the Restoration and Renewal Pre-Feasibility Study of 2012. The House of Commons Commission reviewed that study on 29 October 2012. It decided to rule out the option of constructing a new building away from Westminster and agreed that no further analysis would be undertaken on this option. The House Committee of the House of Lords took a similar view.

House of Commons Chamber

Deidre  Brock: To ask the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, whether consideration has been given to ensuring that there will be adequate provision for every hon. Member to attend proceedings and take part in proceedings in the Chamber following the restoration and renewal of the Palace of Westminster.

Tom Brake: The two Houses have established a Joint Committee on the Palace of Westminster which will report and make recommendations to both Houses on the future restoration and renewal of the Palace. It will be for the two Houses to decide in due course whether or not they wish to make changes to the layout and seating arrangements of their respective Chambers in conjunction with the essential replacement of service infrastructure and other repairs to the fabric of the building. I am sure that the Joint Committee will be happy to receive the hon. Lady's ideas on this subject.

Department of Health

Incontinence: Health Services

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to commission a national audit of continence care for young and elderly people.

Jane Ellison: There are no current no plans to commission an audit of continence care for the young or elderly. However, the recognition that there is a need for nationwide improvements in continence care has led to the Excellence in Continence Care Programme, which is aligned with the national Compassion in Practice Strategy.   NHS England is leading a national programme of work, the aim of which is to improve commissioning of continence care services. The national Excellence in Continence Care Programme Board is chaired by Sarah Elliott, Chief Nurse NHS England (South) and reports to the national Long Term Conditions Programme Board.

Incontinence: Health Services

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department plans to publish its Excellence in Continence Care Commissioning Framework.

Jane Ellison: NHS England will publish the Framework by October 2015.

Incontinence: Health Services

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will direct NHS England to place an obligation on clinical commissioning groups to contractually deliver quality continence care in England.

Jane Ellison: The Mandate to NHS England requires it to deliver continued improvements in relation to enhancing the quality of life for people with long-term conditions, including those with incontinence, across the five domains of the NHS Outcomes Framework.   Responsibility for continence services sits with NHS England and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). CCGs are responsible for commissioning high quality continence services based on an assessment of local need and performance managing their providers in the delivery of high quality services.   This dual responsibility should ensure continued improvements in the quality of continence care in England.

Incontinence: Health Education

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that Public Health England promotes good continence care via a national awareness campaign.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England recognises the impact of continence difficulties on individual and population health; and will ensure this informs all relevant public health programmes and public health nurse leadership programmes.

General Practitioners: Income

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2015 to Question 2842, what the average yearly earnings of GPs on (a) General Medical Services, (b) Personal Medical Services and (c) Alternative Provider Medical Services contracts were in (i) England, (ii) London, (iii) the London Borough of Islington and (iv) Islington South and Finsbury constituency in each of the last 10 years.

Alistair Burt: Some of the requested information is not collected centrally.   The available information is shown in the following tables. Figures are not collected by borough or constituency. Also, figures are not available for general practitioners (GPs) on Alternative Provider Medical Services contracts. When interpreting the figures it is important to note that the nature of GP contracts and their work has also changed over time. Since the start of the new General Medical Services (GMS) contract in 2004/05, there have been some major changes to income, work streams and investment in general practice.   The new GMS contract was fully implemented in 2004/05 (although some features were introduced in 2003/04). Therefore results from these years may not be fully comparable.   Table 1: Mean average gross earnings, GMS contractor GPs, 2003/04 – 2012/13 (£)  2003/042004/052005/062006/072007/082008/092009/102010/112011/122012/13England200,407229,593245,440247,261247,480255,100259,100263,500265,500269,800London Strategic Health Authority (SHA)-230,591249,257251,670250,939259,200264,100267,600268,100279,900London NHS England region--------267,900279,900   Table 2: Mean average gross earnings, Personal Medical Services contractor GPs, 2003/04 – 2013/14 (£)  2003/042004/052005/062006/072007/082008/092009/102010/112011/122012/13England234,477266,193283,994288,205289,667298,600302,900308,800309,700315,800London SHA-297,993312,765319,675329,426333,600341,300341,900335,200347,200London NHS England region--------335,200347,200   Source: The Health and Social Care Information Centre.   Notes: The time series in the tables are presented in cash terms of gross earnings, before any expenses are deducted. A hyphen indicates that the information is not available.   Figures are not available for London SHA in 2003/04. NHS England region figures are only available from 2011/12 onwards. Figures for the 2012/13 financial year are the latest available. Figures for London SHA 2004/05 and 2005/06 were published as London Government Office Region (GOR) figures. London GOR maps exactly to London SHA. Figures from 2008/09 onwards are rounded to the nearest £100.

Incontinence: Health Services

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that the Care Quality Commission's regulatory standards include verification of continence care treatment standards in (a) hospitals and (b) care homes.

Jane Ellison: Lack of adequate continence care could breach a number of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) fundamental standards; for example that people:   - must have care and treatment that is tailored to them and meets their needs and preferences; - are treated with dignity and respect at all times whilst receiving care and treatment; and - do not suffer any form of abuse or improper treatment, including neglect or degrading treatment, while receiving care.   The CQC considers continence as part of inspections wherever appropriate. If a specific concern over continence care was raised, the inspection would focus on this issue in greater detail.

Incontinence: Health Services

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time is for an assessment of patients with continence problems.

Jane Ellison: This information is not held centrally.

General Practitioners: Medical Equipment

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to upgrade diagnostic equipment in GP surgeries across England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: It is for individual GP practices to ensure that their diagnostic equipment is fit for purpose.   The majority of GP Practices receive funding through three main income streams: - Global Sum – covering the costs of running a general practice, including some essential GP services. This is calculated using the Carr-Hill formula that takes into account, for example, patient demographics, rurality and deprivation factors. - The Quality and Outcome Framework (QOF), an optional incentive scheme for GPs. - Enhanced services, setting out additional services that practices can choose to provide.   Additional payments are also made to practices, for example, seniority payments as well as payments associated with costs of providing premises. Practices are then responsible for meeting the costs of their business, including funding and maintaining any equipment they may need.

General Practitioners: Recruitment

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase the level of recruitment of GPs across England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: Health services are a devolved matter with each United Kingdom country responsible for ensuring they have a workforce that is equipped to deliver high quality patient care.   In January 2015, Health Education England (HEE), alongside NHS England, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the British Medical Association’s General Practitioners Committee jointly published Building the Workforce – the new deal for general practice which set out an action plan to increase general practitioner (GP) numbers. This includes measures on recruitment to GP training:   - conducting a campaign this summer targeted at recruitment to GP training in the autumn; - scoping the use of an additional year of training post-award of the Certificate of Completion of Training for candidates seeking to work in geographies which historically have had difficulties recruiting trainees; - investing an extra £1 billion in new primary care infrastructure which will enable increased training capacity and a more positive experience for medical students and foundation year doctors within general practice; and - establishing a number of hubs/networks providing new education and training models for the whole workforce within community and primary care settings.   Alongside this, the Government’s mandate to HEE requires them to ensure that 3,250 trainee doctors enter GP training programmes by 2016. This will enable further increases in the GP workforce across England.   Building the Workforce also includes measures on retention and supporting GPs to return to practice. A copy of this is attached. 



Building the Workforce 
(PDF Document, 237.62 KB)

Lymphoedema: Medical Treatments

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what preventative treatments are available in the NHS for lymphoedema.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were (a) diagnosed and (b) treated for lymphoedema in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: Lymphoedema results from either a congenital inadequacy of the lymphatic system (primary lymphoedema) or damage to the lymphatic system or removal of lymph nodes by surgery, radiation, infection or injury. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence states that the most common type of chronic lymphoedema in the United Kingdom is secondary lymphoedema of the arm following breast cancer.   Rather than there being preventative treatment for lymphoedema, there is preventative care, which is designed to keep the condition well managed.   Treatment aims to reduce swelling, pain and discomfort. Manual lymph drainage uses massage techniques to help drain lymph fluid away from the limb. Decongestive lymphatic therapy consists of a combination of manual drainage followed by graduated compression bandaging, skin care advice and exercises designed to build and stimulate the muscles involved in lymph drainage. This is repeated once or twice daily to progressively reduce limb volume. Once no further limb volume reduction is possible, the patient is fitted with a custom-made garment to be worn daily. Surgery may be needed in a small number of cases and liposuction may also be considered for some patients.   Data relating to the total number of people diagnosed with lymphoedema is not collected, though research estimates suggest it affects at least 100,000 people in the UK and could be as high as 200,000. Because the vast majority of treatment for lymphoedema is not provided as inpatient care, data regarding the number of people being treated for condition in the last five years is not collected.

Medical Treatments

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure access for NHS patients to innovative new medicines that have received marketing authorisation before their assessment from NICE.

George Freeman: In the absence of guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund new medicines based on an assessment of the available evidence.   We take the issue of ensuring rapid access to innovative therapies very seriously, which is why we have launched an Accelerated Access Review to make recommendations to Government later in the year on speeding up access for National Health Service patients to innovative and cost effective new medicines, diagnostics and medical technologies.

Skin Cancer: Drugs

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had on the availability of nivolumab for melanoma patients through the Cancer Drugs Fund.

George Freeman: We have had no such discussions.   NHS England is responsible for the operational management of the Cancer Drugs Fund. It has taken a decision not to consider new drugs like nivolumab, at this stage, whilst consideration is given to new ways of working and to ensure that the Fund remains within budget.   We understand that NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence will shortly be consulting jointly on a proposed new system for commissioning cancer drugs.   The Government remains committed to the Fund which has so far helped over 72,000 people in England access the cancer drugs their doctors recommend for them.

Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust: NHS England

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the reasons why a request from Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust for NHS England to participate in a joint serious incidents investigation has not yet received a formal response; and what assessment he has made of the implications for the conduct of such an investigation arising from the time taken to respond to that request.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS England has a responsibility formally to respond to requests from NHS trusts to undertake joint investigations into serious incidents.

Ben Gummer: There is no formal requirement for NHS England to respond to requests from organisations to undertake joint investigations. However, NHS England regional teams are able to provide advice and/or support in order to assist the incident management and investigation process, particularly in complex situations where multiple organisations (including NHS providers and commissioning organisations) are involved. In such circumstances NHS England may, for example, facilitate discussions relating to who is the most appropriate organisation to take responsibility for co-ordinating the investigation process. Or, where no one provider or commissioning organisation is best placed to assume this responsibility, NHS England may agree to lead this process.   In relation to the Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, enquires have been made with the Trust and local clinical commissioning group (CCG) and neither are able to find any intelligence in relation to a request for a joint investigation.   The only incidents that would potentially be investigated by NHS England are those identified in the Serious Incident Framework i.e. independent investigations and NHS England’s role in the Serious Incident Framework is that of a commissioner for directly commissioned services to maintain oversight and surveillance of serious incident management and assures that CCGs have systems in place to manage investigations appropriately.   The revised Serious Incident Framework (published March 2015) provides details relating to the roles and responsibilities of NHS England with regards to management serious incidents. The framework is available online at: http://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/patientsafety/serious-incident/ (please refer to Part 2: Section 2 and 3 for supplementary guidance). As stated within the Serious Incident Framework, NHS England’s involvement would need to be considered and agreed on a case by case basis, depending on the circumstances of the incident and with a view to ensuring that learning from serious incidents is maximised to prevent recurrence of future harm.

Cancer: Drugs

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) new cancer medicines and (b) new indications of existing cancer medicines are expected to be licensed between July 2015 and 31 March 2016.

George Freeman: There are currently 11 applications for new cancer medicines and 15 applications for new indications for existing cancer medicines under review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) as part of European Centralised Procedures submitted to the European Medicines Agency (EMA). There is one further application for a new indication for an existing cancer medicine under review by MHRA in an application submitted in the United Kingdom as part of a Mutual Recognition Procedure.   Under European Centralised Procedures, it takes up to 210 days for an opinion on licensing for new applications and 120 days for an opinion on variation applications for new indications to be given by the scientific committee of the EMA, the Committee for Human Medicinal Products (CHMP), excluding time taken by the Company to provide further information or data to support any questions which may arise during the assessment process. If the assessment concludes that the quality, safety and efficacy are satisfactory and a positive opinion is given by the CHMP, the European Commission will then consider the opinion and decide upon granting or varying a marketing authorisation, valid across the European Community. For a national variation procedure, the same timeline of 120 days, excluding time taken by the Company to provide further information, applies.   At this time, the MHRA, the UK Government body responsible for medicines regulation in the UK, is unable to provide more precise detail on the timeline for completion of the review of the applications currently with the EMA and MHRA, and it is not possible to predict with certainty what will be licensed between July 2015 and 31 March 2016, nor can any information be provided on applications not yet submitted but which may be approved before 31 March 2016.

Cancer: Drugs

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans for a new system for the reimbursement of cancer drugs to be in place by April 2016 when the current Cancer Drugs Fund is proposed to end.

George Freeman: NHS England has advised that the Cancer Drugs Fund in its current form is due to operate until 1 April 2016. We understand that NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence will shortly be consulting jointly on a proposed new system for commissioning cancer drugs.

Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust: Patients

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients were admitted by Lancashire Care hospitals in 2014; and how many of those admissions were to (a) NHS facilities, (b) privately-run facilities in Lancashire, (c) named NHS facilities and (d) named private facilities outside Lancashire.

Ben Gummer: There were 3,752 finished admission episodes for the Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust in the year 2013-14¹.   Information on activity sub-contracted from one facility to another is not collected centrally. We have written to Derek Brown, Chair of the Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust informing him of the hon. Member’s enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.   ¹Source: The Health and Social Care Information Centre   Notes:  Activity includes English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.2. A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period.

Care Homes: Older People

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of elderly residents of residential care homes run by charities who receive subsidised care from the operating charity.

Alistair Burt: This information is not held centrally.   The Government recently published statutory guidance setting out how local authorities should meet new duties in the Care Act around promoting a sustainable care market in their area. This includes consideration of the actual costs of care and support when negotiating fee levels with providers in the locality.